A Gift of Wings. Illustrated by K. O. Eckland.

London: Heinemann, (1975). First Edition. Octavo, black boards (hardcover), gilt letters, ix, 337 pp. Very Good, with light foxing (age darkened spotting) to page edges; in a Very Good dust jacket with light edgewear. From dust jacket: Richard Bach’s first book since Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a collection of forty-eight stories and articles which celebrate the highlights of fifteen years of flight and flying. He has a sparkling facility for communicating information about flying and aircraft together with an astonishing dreamlike imagination that is as boundless as the sky, though it is no more a book for flying buffs alone than is Francis Chichester just for sailors. Whether he is writing about barnstorming in biplanes, the hazards of being a fighter test-pilot, coping with aircraft that many would consider museum pieces, or the memorable day when he shot down the Red Baron -- for a film -- Richard Bach shares with everyone the meaning and joy of flight. Together with stirring illustrations by K O Eckland, all the book’s thoughts and actions lead in an overall way to the themes of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and contribute to an understanding of that special ingredient of adventure, freedom and discovery with which Richard Bach flavours his life.