Stephens and Halliburton
A soldier of the French Foreign Legion.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
what i'm reading now
I don't remember a time when I couldn't read. When I was little my grand mother would keep me supplied with Little Golden Books. The Saggy Baggy Elephant was one of my favorites. Then, when I was about nine years old I read Tom Sawyer, and that's when my reading career took off. One day, around 1954, I retrieved The Flying Carpet from a box of books someone had given my grand mother. It was published in 1932 by Richard Halliburton, an explorer who wrote several books about his adventures around the world. I eventually lost the book, but recently I found it again on Amazon.com. This is a first edition and as a bonus the original owner taped a 1940 news clipping to the inside front cover. The clipping announced that Halliburton had been declared dead six months after he embarked on a voyage in a Chinese junk from Hong Kong to San Francisco. As a young boy I was awed by the fantastic trip Halliburton and his pilot, Moye Stephens, made in a red and gold biplane. The book is full of black and white photos of the people and cities they visited. A great book to fire the imagination of a young boy
Stephens and Halliburton
A soldier of the French Foreign Legion.
Stephens and Halliburton
A soldier of the French Foreign Legion.
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5 comments:
Wally,
Richard Halliburton was my hero when I was growing up. I read every single book! He probably did more than anyone (alive or dead) to create a desire in me to read.
His style is somewhat stilted when compared to current author's, but I'm still a fan! Get a hold of 'Seven League Boots'.
Steven
I'm beginning to suspect that you and I are twins that were separated at birth.
I remember the Saggy Baggy elephant! I loved that book...makes note to get it for nephew....
Isn't the power of books amazing? I had the equivalent of Richard Halliburton in my life too, and I never pass up a chance to buy the books that stir those feelings of wonder and adventure.
This looks like a wonderful book! Adventure books that I've loved are Kontiki on a Raft; Island of the Blue Dolphins; Huck Finn; Treasure Island; Straight On Till Morning; Any book on Shackleton, but Endurance is a great one; Into the Wild; and Into Thin Air (just to name a few that stand the test of time. Dog and horse stories by the dozens I haven't even mentioned, but Jack London wrote some great ones.
I think I'll look for this Haliburton book. Thanks, Wally.
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