Falcons' Flight [Paperback]

Linda Linton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2006

Falcons' Flight is more than a memoir. It's a World War II adventure based on the true story of a couple's escape from the Nazis as told to their family for the first time on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Linda Linton is an advertising executive for a Medical Communications company. She resides in Morris County, New Jersey with her partner and his daughter. The author's parents, Alfred and Loretta Linton ( the main characters in this story), live in a retirement community in Central Florida.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION July 2,1988 Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean Gazing out the window en route to Bermuda, my eyes lost focus and I stared down onto what appeard to be armfuls of white cotton candy. I love to fly. The temporary separation from the chaos and daily stresses of the world below always gives me the feeling of great freedom and peace. It's as though I've been given permission to let go for a while, to loosen the desperate grip on the controls governing the minute details of my life. And in those blissful moments of abandonment, I reflected on the preparations for this trip and wondered what the next few days would bring. My Dad had planned every detail meticulously. He wanted this celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary to be just the way he liked things best :with the family gathered around. It's funny. In some ways, our family is not what an outsider would call "close knit." We all live within about a 100-mile radius of Mom and Dad's house in Philadelphia, but we get together only a few times a year, on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and maybe a birthday or two. My older sister, Sue, and her husband and two boys live in the Poconos. My brother John and his wife, together with their two children are in the Philadelphia suburbs of Bucks County. Then there's me, Linda, the youngest, living in New Jersey near the shore. For this celebration, we could have met at Mom and Dad's house with less than a two-hour drive. Yet here we were, all of us flying to an island resort to spend four days together at the South Hampton Princess Hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda. This was definitely a very special occasion. The clouds began to part like white silk scarves flung aside by some magician, revealing jewels of blue topaz and turquoise sparkling in the ocean below. Tiny dots became tinker-toy-sized sailboats, and as the plane swung in a wide circle over the water, the coral pink island of Bermuda came into view. Dad had everything set up. During the day we could do as we wished on our own. We could go to the beach, sightsee, play golf. Dinner would be together, of course. And then, Dad explained, he wanted everyone to gather in his and mom's room after dinner each evening to talk. This part of the trip had us intrigued. We weren't exactly sure what we would talk about, but Dad had even suggested we bring tape recorders. He said he wanted to tell all of us, the children and the grandchildren, the story of what had happened over the past 50 years. You have to understand that this was a pretty remarkable concept. In our family we didn't often talk about the past. Johnny and Susie and I had heard only bits and pieces of stories over the years. We knew that our parents had met in Brussels, Mom's hometown, around the time of World War II. We knew that Mom's family was Catholic and Dad's family was Jewish. And we all knew that Dad was born in Vienna and that the rest of his family had fled Austria and reached America long before Mom and Dad arrived here. I remember hearing the story of how one of my uncles had chosen our new family name (changing it from Liebermann, a name that was both German and Jewish)to make it "more American." My uncle chose the name merely by opening the telephone book to the "L's" and pointing to a name at random. That name turned out to be Linton. But except for those few tiny scraps of information, the early part of Mom and Dad's relationship had never been discussed. They didn't even teach us their native languages, French and German. Mom did sing some French songs to us when we were very little ­I remember learning to sing "Sur le Pont d'Avignon." And when we visited our aunts and uncles, the grownups would often speak German, so I did learn to understand a little. But whenever I asked why they didn't teach us German or French, Mom would say, "If you want to learn another language, you must go to the country where it is spoken." They wanted us to be 100 percent American kids, with an American name and America's language. So none of us had any idea of the adventure story we were about to hear.

Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552126498
• ISBN-13: 978-1552126493
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,401,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! What Strong People!, June 8, 2001

By 

Kathy L McNeil (Morristown, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falcons' Flight (Paperback)

This book is a wonderful true story of two people whose love and persistence endured the separation and atrocities of World War II. It travels full-circle from their experiences and their final destination of freedom in Bermuda, to meeting in Bermuda 50 years later to tell the story to their children. I was unable to put this book down. The heart-wrenching story, documented with such clarity and passion by their daughter, is one of the most moving books I have ever read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Falcon's Flight SOARS!, October 28, 2010

By 

Cindi Sharp - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falcons' Flight (Paperback)

I Loved this book! I felt like I was actually THERE, experiencing all the trials and tribulations along with them!! At some parts I could actually feel my heartbeat increase! I also liked the writters' style - the interjection of her thoughts in italics - made it more personal and real. Wonderful, quick, absorbing read. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially history buffs.

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE THIS BOOK, February 8, 2008

By 

Jody Slingluff "Jesse Slingluff" (Chesterland, ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Falcons' Flight (Paperback)

I am in Junior High School and enjoy reading history accounts from the WW11 era. I have read many books, regarding this topic. My dad got me this book to read. Its the best book I have read about a couple dealing with the Nazi occupation. The account of the young couple,escaping occupied Europe at the begining of the War shows how strong, and brave they had to be to overcome so many obstacles that got in their way.
Its a wonderful story of love, and bravery.
Jesse Slingluff 15 Chesterland, Ohio