Chapter 6 - Flight Behavior

As any of my family or friends will tell you I love historical facts and trivia of any kind. I appreciate irony as well as cleverness. In that vein, Douglas Corrigan (nicknamed Wrong Way) flew from New York to Ireland on this day in 1938 although his flight plan had him returning to California where

he originated his flight.

Although he claimed bad weather and a faulty compass took him to the Emerald Isle, seems he was denied permission to make a nonstop flight from New York to Ireland when he proposed it. He never publicly admitted to flying to Ireland deliberately although his nickname stayed with him until his death.

So in honor of Wrong Way Corrigan here are some great books about Ireland.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin - The movie was good, but the book is better. Toibin tells the story of a young woman who immigrates to Brooklyn in the 1950's. Particularly appropriate with all the immigration issues today.

The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd - Part I of the Dublin Saga this story describes the origins of Ireland from myth to Pat Rick to the Vikings and further. It gives the reader a good understanding of the magic that is Ireland.

The Romanov Conspiracy by Glenn Meade - Meade is a wonderful Irish writer of spy and conspiracy thrillers. While on a dig in Russia, American forensic archaeologist, Laura Pavlov discovers something that may answer the question of what really happened to Anastasia, one of the Romanovs allegedly killed in 1918. The action leads to Ireland (I was getting there) and a decades old conspiracy.

A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy - No book list of Ireland is complete without a nod to Maeve Binchy, one of the most prolific Irish writers. A Week in Winter is about a women who decides to take an old mansion and turn it into a holiday resort much to the amusement of the townspeople. A satisfying story of dreams and friendship in unexpected places.

In the Woods by Tana French - The first of the Dublin Murder Squad mysteries, French writes a compelling tale of three children who, in 1948, don't come home from playing in the woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children terrorized, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later and now a detective, Rob Ryan, the found boy, is investigating a crime very similar to the one in his childhood.