Book excerpt: With this book by Leslie Hunt, kite-maker for the United States Weather Bureau, you can make your own, personalized kites that will fly in all degrees of wind, from the most imperceptible breeze to a gale. All that you need are some light wood (or substitute), glue, wire, hammer, and nails — plus the clear, concise explanations offered in this book. Twenty-five basic kites are covered in constructional details: standard two-stick kites; six-point stars; figural kites such as imps, fishermen, elephants, owls, shields; balloon kites; tetrahedral kites; various kinds of box kites with and without wings; really strong military kites; and many other varieties. Nor are you limited to the kites that are presented in detail: the carefully thought-out, complete instructions are meant to encourage you to experiment with more unusual effects, since they explain important points of design and operation that make all kites fly well. The author explains materials and methods quite thoroughly, with consideration of sticks and surface, types of glue, stringing, making composite sticks, tails, bridles, and many other elements, He also gives information on many of the fascinating accessories and concomitants to kites; messengers (or elements that move between ground and kite), parachutes, time releases, special effect releases, tandem kites, and kite photography. He also explains very clearly the method of getting a kite to fly, reeling and stringing, and determining altitude.