Riders of the Wind — Robert F. Deburgh

Riders of the Wind is set in the turbulent times of the nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties. It traces the lives, loves and adventures of six people through this heroic era in aviation. Loosely based on the life of airmail and airline pilot, Charles A. Cross, Jr., the tale is told in the language and spirit of the times. The book graphically portrays the adventure and romance of flight in the pioneering years before World War II, taking the reader into the cockpit with the airmail pilots battling the night through horrific weather and with the route survey pilot in the wilds of the Amazon. It guides the reader through the speakeasies of the prohibition era, the depths of the depression and ultimately to the Eagle Squadrons in the Battle of Britain. Told in very human terms, the story also portrays the courtship and deep abiding love between Charlie Cross and his wife, Doretta and the friendship and camaraderie in the world of aviation in that era.