Customer Reviews

The Cannibal Queen

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is entertaining and I enjoyed reading it, but it is not in the same league as e.g. Richard Bach's A Gift of Wings.

The audiotape version, which I recently obtained from the local lending library, really highlights the author's more banal observations and the book's lack of structure. I had to turn it off halfway through the first cassette - a first for me!

It's not a bad book, and I'm pleased to have it in my personal library. I don't agree with OmarUSAF's suggestion that it is boring; but it cannot reasonably be considered a classic. Mariana Gosnell's Zero 3 Bravo and (especially) Rinker Buck's Flight of Passage are better accounts of flying across America.

A few years ago I bought this book in Sidney as I prepared for the long flight back to the US. The book was so entertaining that it made that journey not only bearable but a pleasure. It is the story of a trip that we would all like to make in a plane we would all like to own. Get it, read it, enjoy it and pass it along to another pilot.

I read this book several years ago as the book was on special. It was an enjoyable light read for me as I was curious to find out
a bit about rural america and the flying experience around it. My specific interest was in terms of the actual flying and the
meeting of wonderful people around small american airports and how he paid for his flying. The book was a brief introduction
to the joy and tribulations of buying and flying an open cockpit airplane between small airports across most of america. I
wished he would of discussed a lot more the scenery and the characters he met along the way. I found that certain airports he
just mentions them without delving deeper even though I new that he had to spend a whole day flying just to get to these distant
airports. It will mainly satisfy addicts who want an introductory light read about flying across america. For better or worse, he
wets our appetite and leaves us with a growling stomach.

Pilot (East coast North America, Utah, and Arizona)

A thoroughly enjoyable chronicle of flying. Every pilot will enjoy Coonts' travels with envy. If you are into the true flight experience this book is a must, it would however, be somewhat boring for the non pilot. My only regret is that it had to end.

Some people might consider this a book about flying and nothing more. If so, they will most likely be dissapointed. Cannibal Queen is a story about one man's journey into his heart & soul. It's a story that happens to take place in an airplane; I love flying so please don't misunderstand me if my review isn't more centered on the act of flying.

If you love flying you'll love this book, but if you are equally interested in what the author is like, this is his story. He could have ridden a motorcycle across all 48 states and written the story, and it most likely would have been very similar to this one; just longer.

In Cannibal Queen one is taken along for the ride as if you are acually there. You'll feel his impatience to get back in the air, and flying again. If you've never seen America from the air in an open cockpit airplane, this story might just leave you wanting to find some one who can take you up for a ride .... do it; you won't be left disappointed no matter what the cost is.

As for the heart & soul, Stephen gives a rare glimps into the inner self of the writer in the manner of Richard Bach. This character of the book is quite nice. Here's a guy who puts his pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us ... he talks about his feeling of returning to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, and the memories this generates,as well as the emotions too. It's truly a love story of sorts.

In reading it I could transport myself into the story as if it were my story; wondering how I would feel upon returning to the unit location where I flew in the Army, and the memories of those bygone days. Stephen has accomplished this magic in his words.

If you like a well written story of a journey of the heart & soul, then you need to read this book, make sure you have the requisite time for it; if you're like me you won't be able to put it down until you have read it all.

This is a great book about Coonts' flight around the US in a biplane without electronic navigation aids through mostly uncontrolled airspace. He shares his thoughts, experiences and observations along the way. This book will appeal primarily to pilots who can appreciate the freedom associated with this kind of flying.

The Cannibal Queen is actually a 1942 Stearman open cockpit biplane and the book of the same name by Stephen Coonts is his story of flying it around the 48 continental United States. It's a great flying book, which is not surprising as Coonts is an ex-Navy fighter jock and the author of four best sellers, including 'Flight of the Intruder.' What got me about the book, however, is a very small sub-plot, namely the author's relationship with his ex-wife and three kids. Right at the start he has a vacation with the ex at DisneyWorld in Florida. Then later he has another get together with the ex in Washington state. Both events are painted as routine when in fact they're more surprising than anything that happens up in the air.

There's also a good dose of denial over his son, David. On the one hand he says 'I have yet to carry a passenger in the Cannibal Queen who is unmoved by the experience.' Well, no. His son was so moved by it he fell asleep in the front cockpit. Like a lot of sons, David finds his father's interests barely tolerable. It's a good book though, you'll like it.

As a licensed private pilot I have often dreamed of doing just what the author did, i.e. rent a vintage airplane, take a whole summer off and fly around the entire United States. So, when I saw this book I bought it immediately and settled in for a vicarious thrill.

Unfortunaely, the author describes almost no contact with the local people and only passing mention of the scenery he flies over. His mission apperars to be simply to touch down in every State and then fly on to the next airport; mission accomplished. He lands, goes to a nearby restuarant, has a hamburger ("it was good") and flies on.

There are many writers out there who have traveled the USA by motorcycle, car or boat (see William Heat-Moon's "River Horse")and have managed to write a fascinating account of their adventures. This book is very cut and dry and left me wanting more. Maybe someone will take the same trip some summer and write a book worth reading.

I am a pilot: general aviation and US Army. The words of Coonts in Cannibal Queen run true and deep. Mr. Coonts captures the essence of pleasure flying . . . this is a must read for anyone who has a love of aviation.

This is a good book for aviators who yearn to travel around the country. It is well written and gives a good snapshot of America in the early 90's. It has motivated me to fly more and do it at an altitude that I can consume the sites and smells that define each microcosm of civilization in the many remote areas of the US. A great read, I would recommend it to anyone who is a pilot or who dreams of becoming a pilot.