["Fate is the Hunter"] is a documentary about the pre-war days of commercial flying, first in the United States and, after, during the war, in South America and all over the world. It is an evocation from the point of view of the men in the cockpit, the pilot and co-pilot. They are shown as technicians watching their instruments and then, suddenly, as human beings surprised by peril—all four engines give out; the aircraft is lost; it runs into violent storm; it is down to a few minutes ...

At his best, Ernest K. Gann is spectacularly good. An experienced airman and a skillful narrative writer, he has staked out a claim to a thrilling pilot's sky. Readers of Fate Is the Hunter and some of his ten other books must anticipate keenly the prospect of climbing back into the cockpit beside the old master. In [In the Company of Eagles] however, he fails to prove up his claim…. The two scantily realized principals of the new book … are little more than mouthpieces for the weary st...