In 1921, due to the costs and dangers of plane transportation following several crashes, the U.S. Congress decided to defund the U.S. Air Mail system. As a result, fourteen pilots and their support crews decided to prove Air Mail could be much faster than other delivery systems. Pilot Jack Knight set off from North Platte, NE on Feb. 22, 1921 at 10:44p.m. in his open-cockpit biplane. He was only supposed to fly to Omaha, NE, his normal mail route, but a blizzard hit preventing his replacement from arriving and downing the other two planes in Chicago, IL. Jack, exhausted and freezing, still took off again to fly into the night, into the storm, and into unfamiliar territory. He had a compass, but none of the other technology that makes night flights possible and safe today. After making a perilous stop to refuel in Iowa City, IA, Jack set off once again, finally landing in Chicago just after dawn. He had to be cut out of his flight suit because it had frozen to the seat! Two other pilots were able to finish the relay to New York City. In total, they flew 2,629 miles in 23 hours, 20 minutes, beating the old plane-train record by nearly 39 hours. Within a few days, Congress approved the funding to continue the U.S. Air Mail system.

An author’s note at the end of the book describes the need for a reliable mail system in the United States and includes some historical photographs, a chronology and a bibliography. This picture book is creatively illustrated with watercolors, ink, pencil, rubber stamps and digital images. The harrowing tale should appeal to readers interested in the history of flight, the history of the U.S. Mail, and in true-life adventures.

Reviewed by Crystal Wilder, University of Southern Maine, Gorham Campus Library