New York: St Martin's, (1990) dj. Hardcover first edition - A novel set in 1932, in the midst of the Depression, based on the true story of two dead-broke aviators (pilot James Herman Banning and L.A. mechanic and would-be aviator Thomas Allen) who set out to become the first black Americans to fly across the United States. In a makeshift plane, with no flight plan and no money, they leave Los Angeles and in three danger-filled weeks actually get to New York. 237 pp. ISBN: 0-312043244.