Double Eagle

by Charles McCarry

Double Charles McCarry; Ben Abruzzo; et Double Little, Brown and FIRST First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped. Published by Little, Brown and Company, 1979. Octavo. Hardcover. Book is very good with very light toning to the page ends, and the previous owner's name inscribed on the dedication page. Dust jacket is very good with a tear to the front cover, and light edgewear . 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York.Seller 360891 History We Buy Books! Collections - Libraries - Estates - Individual Titles. Message us if you have books to sell!

Genres: Aviation, Nonfiction

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

McCarry served in the United States Army, where he was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, was a small-town newspaperman, and was a speechwriter in the Eisenhower administration. From 1958 to 1967 he worked for the CIA, under deep cover in Europe, Asia, and Africa. However, his cover was not as a writer or journalist.

McCarry was editor-at-large for National Geographic and contributed pieces to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and other national publications.

McCarry was best known for a series of books concerning the life of super spy Paul Christopher. Born in Germany before WWII to a German mother and an American father, Christopher joins the CIA after the war and becomes one of its most effective spies. After launching an unauthorized investigation of the Kennedy assassination, Christopher becomes a pariah to the agency and a hunted man. Eventually, he spends ten years in a Chinese prison before being released and embarking on a solution to the mystery that has haunted him his entire life: the fate of his mother, who disappeared at the beginning of WWII. The books are notable for their historical detail and depiction of spycraft, as well as their careful and extensive examination of Christopher's relationship with his family, friends, wives, and lovers.

Reviews

[False · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in the final stages of finishing all of Charles McCarry's published works. I have completed all of the cold war-espionage books, which were excellent for the most part. This book is about the first and second air balloon flights of Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson, later joined in flight two with Larry Newman. It's interesting what makes men pursue dangerous sports or adventures. So often there's an element of death wish in them, a dare if you will, but in this case, both Abruzzo and Anderson, with a lengthy and successful history of ballooning behind them, decided they wanted to try and fly from the Eastern Coast of the U.S. across the Atlantic and onto Europe soil. Their ideal was France for twofold reasons: the first being that Lindbergh had landed there during his solo flight, but more importantly it was the first solid bodied country attached to Europe, Britain and Ireland being islands. The book was written in the 1970's. The flights occurred during that decade. Others had tried before and failed, just falling short, or dying in the effort. Technology, even though advanced in the '70's was still primitive compared by today's standards, and you have to wonder what travels are now being pursued with more effective, solid navigation and communications in place. Abruzzo almost lost his foot due to wet and cold exposure. He suffered during trip two trying to protect the same, damaged foot. McCarry provides a detailed accounting of both journeys. He presents a warts and all portrait of the men involved. You find yourself being drawn into their efforts and success. I looked the men up before writing this review. Maxie Anderson died four years later in 1983 while air ballooning. He had successful ballooned from Egypt to India in 48 hours, then two years later died in Germany. Having no wish to stray across the border into East Germany or Czechoslovakia, he attempted to release the gondola from the envelope at touchdown. The bolts failed to fire, and a gust re-lofted the vehicle, whereupon the explosive bolts deployed, and both Anderson and Ida were killed in the fall. Ben Abruzzo died on 11 February 1985 when the Cessna 421 he was piloting crashed near Albuquerque. Abruzzo's wife and four others also died in the crash, including a son who was also a balloonist. This surprised me, because he was a superior pilot. Larry Newman died in 2010 of pancreatic cancer. He had run a successful hang gliding company for many years, sold it, and became a pilot for American West in 1985. So all three are gone, two shortly after this book was written. Think about something you could do that would push you past your comfort level. Plan accordingly. Live a little. Time passes in a blink.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

McCarry is a superb author of spy novels. This, however, is non-fiction, an account of the first transatlantic crossing by helium balloon, in 1978, of three American adventurers, "cowboys" all: courageous, skilled, foolhardy. A first attempt had been made by two of them in 1977. They were skilled balloonists over land but had no over-water experience, no navigational skills, no radio skills and a near-lethal ignorance of what constitutes warm, waterproof clothing. They did have the competitive spirit, and hearing that another balloonist would attempt the ocean crossing, started out anyway. They did have an excellent balloon-maker. They did have an expert weather consultant, who pointed out the right break in the weather, to capture the proper lift between storm systems. They were late getting up and ran into heavy weather. Caught in cyclone winds pushing them in a circle, and, concerned about the frostbite of one of them, they landed in Iceland. The next year, with a third crew member, a young pilot who was good at radios, they managed to get from Maine to France, not without problems. McCarry vividly portrays the strengths and weaknesses of the three men brought into close contact during planning plus several days in the gondola. We learn how little was known about weather systems over the Atlantic, about the best way to use color on the balloon to capture daytime sun (to expand helium, and raise the balloon), about how to shield the gondola from rain, and about many other things. A future trip could build on pioneering experiences and do much better. But what makes a pioneer? Talent, determination and recklessness. It's well to remember the latter, and the many failed balloon crossings and dead balloonists. Progress has a price.

[Matthew Buotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though you know how it ends—with the first successful transatlantic balloon flight—it is still a thrilling, interesting read as to how three men could conquer a seemingly impossible task. I am not a balloonist nor will I ever set foot in one but I still found this book incredibly interesting and would recommend to anyone who is fascinated by the endurance of the human spirit and the quest for human achievement.

[Rebecca Prinster-Caloca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely an entertaining read, but wow, so outdated. Like, laughably so. I know at the time this was written that the portrayal of the two main characters was meant to show how macho and tough they are, but they really come across as a-holes. (Which says more about them than about the book!)