Riders of the Wind is set in the turbulent times of the nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties. It traces the lives, loves and adventures of six people through this heroic era in aviation. Loosely based on the life of airmail and airline pilot, Charles A. Cross, Jr., the tale is told in the language and spirit of the times. The book graphically portrays the adventure and romance of flight in the pioneering years before World War II, taking the reader into the cockpit with the airmail pilots battling the night through horrific weather and with the route survey pilot in the wilds of the Amazon. It guides the reader through the speakeasies of the prohibition era, the depths of the depression and ultimately to the Eagle Squadrons in the Battle of Britain. Told in very human terms, the story also portrays the courtship and deep abiding love between Charlie Cross and his wife, Doretta and the friendship and camaraderie in the world of aviation in that era.
About the Author: Robert F. DeBurgh was born and grew up in the northeastern United States. From a very early age his entire life has been dedicated to aviation, from flying airplanes himself as a professional pilot to writing about the people who fly them His first recollection of flight is sitting on his aunt's lap in the front seat of an open cockpit biplane flown by his uncle at the tender age of five. He learned to fly at age fifteen and obtained his commercial pilot and flight instructor certificates at eighteen. After completing his military service he returned to college and obtained graduate degrees in psychology, sociology and education and a master of arts in psychology, supporting himself and paying his tuition by doing what he loved best, flight instruction and writing about aviation. His writings have included aviation and sports car columns for several newspapers, many articles for American and foreign magazines, short stories in the realm of adventure, science fiction and fantasy and much poetry. He has also worked as associate editor for "American Roadracing Magazine." At the present time he writes articles for "Indian Aviation Magazine" and several US magazines and is the author of the widely acclaimed novels, Riders of the Wind and Winds of Fate. In each of these novels DeBurgh has woven a tale of high adventure set against an accurate background of actual historical events. Robert DeBurgh has served as captain for three overseas airlines and has sojourned widely in the US, Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Africa. For the past seventeen years he has served his country in the capacity of a pilot examiner for the Federal Aviation Administration until his recent retirement. He still flies regularly and does some advanced flight instruction for airline transport pilots and flight instructors. He resides in the southeastern US with his wife of twenty-five years and his four dogs. His new novel, The Winds of Kunlun Shan, due to be released in the autumn of 2012, is the third book in the Riders of the Wind series.