In "Taking Off, " the first installment of Eric Kraft's beguiling trilogy, Peter Leroy built an aerocycle in his parents' garage, working from designs he found in "Impractical Craftsman" magazine. Cheered on by the gathered residents of his small Long Island beach community, Peter readied his contraption for the adventure of a lifetime: a solo cross-country flight to New Mexico and back. Now Peter is ready to fly---and in "On the Wing, " he tells the hilarious tale of his journey across a mid-century America populated by ...
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In "Taking Off, " the first installment of Eric Kraft's beguiling trilogy, Peter Leroy built an aerocycle in his parents' garage, working from designs he found in "Impractical Craftsman" magazine. Cheered on by the gathered residents of his small Long Island beach community, Peter readied his contraption for the adventure of a lifetime: a solo cross-country flight to New Mexico and back. Now Peter is ready to fly---and in "On the Wing, " he tells the hilarious tale of his journey across a mid-century America populated by eccentrics, crackerbarrel philosophers, and figments of the national imagination. In small hops, mostly consisting of "taxiing" and "landing," he visits roadside attractions and unusual towns: one where every casual expression and idiom is questioned (hence a diner offering "Real Diner Cooking" rather than real home cooking); another where he is chased with pitchforks and shotguns by citizens still traumatized by Orson Welles's "War of the Worlds"; a remote crossroads where he finds himself under attack by a low-flying plane; and finally a town near Roswell, New Mexico, where Peter becomes a phenomenon to rival Roswell's reputation for alien invasion. Along the way, Peter encounters other on-the-roaders, and finds himself pursued by a mysterious dark-haired girl, who continues to appear in different guises and seems strangely familiar, though he can't quite place her face. And, in a parallel contemporary journey undertaken with his wife, Albertine, the adult Peter revisits his long-ago journey, navigating as Albertine drives a vintage automobile through a much-changed America, and misremembering every step of the way. "On the Wing" is a playful but profound novel about an Icarus who does not crash and burn, but grows older, wiser, and productively forgetful as he reimagines his boyhood to create the story of his life.
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Add this copy of On the Wing: Book Two of Flying, a Trilogy to cart. $4.50, like new condition, Sold by Taos Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Fe, NM, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by St. Martin's.
Add this copy of On the Wing: Book Two of Flying: a Trilogy to cart. $5.52, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by St. Martin's Press.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
Add this copy of On the Wing: Book Two of Flying: a Trilogy to cart. $26.34, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by St. Martin's Press.
Add this copy of On the Wing to cart. $34.16, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2007 by St Martins Pr.
Add this copy of On the Wing: Book Two of Flying: a Trilogy to cart. $54.96, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by St. Martin's Press.
Add this copy of On the Wing: Book Two of Flying: a Trilogy to cart. $78.23, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by St. Martin's Press.
