Heartbeats in the Night Summary and Analysis

Vast Fiordland on South Island, New Zealand, makes one want to break into applause. It is too vivid to be real. First seen by Capt. Cook in 1773, the area is a national park still little explored except by helicopter. Bill Black needs to be one of the world's most experienced helicopter pilots the way he flies into the sheer cliff faces to ride the updrafts over ridges. Over the rotor noise Carwardine talks about keas, distinctive mountain parrots that call their own names while flying and take years getting their nests just right before mating. Flying over glaciers that look as though they have been sculpted by a modern master, Adams is too tongue-tied to record his impressions for the radio.

Also aboard the helicopter is quiet Don Merton of the New Zealand Department of...