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West with the Night
by Beryl Markham
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A pioneer aviator's life in Africa. From a letter to Maxwell Perkins: "Did you read Beryl Markham's book, West with the Night? I knew her fairly well in Africa and never would have suspected that she could and would put pen to paper except to write her flyer's log book. As it is, she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together and sometimes making an okay pig pen. But [she] can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers. The only parts of it that I know about personally, on account of having been there at the time and heard the other people's stories, are absolutely true. ...…
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"When she was a kid, Hillary wanted to be an astronaut. She’s always been attracted to flying and space, she grew up near O’Hare Airport. She’s always been attracted to strong women and she’s always been attracted to daring people, even though she is not the most daring person herself. Her mother named her in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary, the great mountain climber. Her attraction to adventurers is evident throughout her life. More than she likes to show in public. Much like Barack Obama couldn’t show too much of his identification as an African-American – because as president, you are president of everyone – Hillary has been cautious. But internally, and increasingly outwardly, she is identifying as a pioneer. And I think that will wash over her and over much of the country if she is elected."