This book covers the wide variety of markings used by British aviation units in World War I. Many of the photographs are published here for the first time, and the profiles offer a representative selection of units, aircraft, and color schemes.

In the 1940s an adventurous youth flees New England for Los Angeles, a city vibrating with wartime energy and sex. Beach culture and a pretty girl captivate him, but he leaves to tramp alone far into Mexico and climb Paricutin, an exploding volcano. Back in L.A., he drives across the country with his mother in pursuit of her escaping lover. Alone again, he pedals an overloaded bicycle to Canada and hitches a ride on the Alaska Highway with a short-tempered sourdough. The old-timer has bet a quart of whisky on the driving time, and a dangerous washout lies ahead. In Fairbanks, Territory of...