Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Iceal Gene Hambleton had ached to get away from the listless plains of Illinois his entire life. But he was born into a farming family, and his father discouraged dreaming in him and his brothers. #2 Gene, the eldest son of Iceal Sr. , grew up to be a very different person than his father. He was funny, mischievous, and defiant, and he loved pranks. He grew up resenting his given name, Iceal, and eventually changed it to Gene. #3 Many young Americans in the 1930s and 1940s dreamed of flight. #4 Hayden’s obsession with flight began when he was a child. He would cut out balsa models of airplanes and fly them around his house.