On Extended Wings

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In this remarkable paean to flying, award-winning poet Diane Ackerman invites us to ride jump seat as she takes -- literally and figuratively -- to the sky. On Extended Wings tells the story of how she gained mastery over the mysteries of flight and earned her private pilot's license, of her frustration and exhilaration during hours of lessons and seemingly endless touch-and-gos, of her first solo and her first cross-country flights, of the teachers and pilots and aviation enthusiasts she befriended and flew with. We learn with her the special language of aviation -- the meaning of terms like "lift" and "windsock" and "True Virgins Make Dull Company" (the flyer's acronym for computing one's heading). And we follow her through an eclectic exploration of the culture and history of flight -- from the dimensions of wind to what laws govern who has the right of way in the sky, from why birds fly to what the litany of lights that flash from control towers means, from the Wright Brothers to St. Exupéry and World War I flying aces. But most of all, On Extended Wings is about challenges, taking chances, and stretching one's limits. As voluptuous in its imagery as it is meticulous in its observation, this is a book for anyone who has ever flown a plane -- or dreamed of it. --http://www.dianeackerman.com/on-extended-wings-by-diane-ackerman