Solo: My Adventures in the Air by Clyde Edgerton (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $23.95)
I cringe at the thought of flying 5,000 feet above the ground with nothing between me and certain death but a piece of metal. But, putting aside my fear of flying, I reveled in this true story of an Air Force pilot's love affair with the skies.
You, too, will enjoy diving headfirst into the perils and triumphs of flying fighter jets during wartime. The first nonfictional work from North Carolina author Clyde Edgerton, the tale begins with a boy's fantasy of flying and ends with the dream realized. The thrill of flying often elates him, yet he includes the terrible aspects of flight, too, remembering downed friends.
Not long after his stint of military flying, he returned home and began writing. When the author felt the skies calling again, he purchased an airplane he named Annabelle, which was eventually disabled in a crash.
Still, with vivid recollections, Edgerton gives a candid account of his passion for flight, displaying his trademark humor. Mary Jo Woods
