{"product_id":"a-pair-of-wings-9781250347220","title":"A Pair of Wings","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn airline captain crafts a riveting, adventurous novel inspired by the remarkable true life of pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman, a Black woman who learned to fly at the dawn of aviation and found freedom in the air\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA few years after the Wright brothers' first flight, Bessie was working the Texas cotton fields with her family when an airplane flew over their heads. It buzzed so low she thought she could catch it in her hands. Bessie was fearless. She knew there was freedom in those wings. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe daughter of a woman born into slavery, Bessie answers the call of the Great Migration. She moves to Chicago, where she wins the backing of two wealthy, powerful Black men--Robert Abbott, creator and publisher of the\u003ci\u003e Chicago Defender\u003c\/i\u003e, and Jesse Binga, the founder of Chicago's first Black bank. Abbott becomes her mentor, while Binga becomes her lover. Her true first love, though, remains flying. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut in 1920, no one in the United States will train a Black woman to fly. So, twenty-eight-year-old Bessie learns to speak French and sets off for Europe. Two years ahead of Amelia Earhart, Bessie earns her pilot's license, and later she learns death-defying stunts from French and German dogfighting combat pilots. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile she finds no prejudice in the air, Bessie wrestles with other challenges on the ground. A plane crash nearly kills her, her brothers seem to be crumbling under the weight of Jim Crow, and, while grappling with tough truths about Binga, Bessie begins to wonder if the freedom she finds in the sky means she must otherwise fly solo. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith tenderness and mastery, Carole Hopson imagines the breathtaking moxie Bessie Coleman harnessed in order to lift herself out of poverty and become known as \"Queen Bess.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-14724995\"\u003eCarole Hopson\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Holt Paperbacks\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/26\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 432\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.01lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.93h x 5.95w x 1.15d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250347220\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 125034722X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC014080\"\u003eHistorical | 20th Century | General\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC049040\"\u003eAfrican American \u0026amp; Black | Historical\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-FIC\"\u003eFiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-FIC041000\"\u003eBiographical \u0026amp; Autofiction\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCarole Hopson\u003c\/b\u003e is a Boeing 737 captain for United Airlines, based in Newark, New Jersey. After a twenty-year career as a journalist and executive for iconic brands like the National Football League, Foot Locker, and L'Oréal, Carole followed her dream to become a pilot. A century after Bessie Coleman soared over seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Black women in the U.S. account for less than one percent of all professional pilots. Inspired by Bessie's spellbinding accomplishments, Carole founded the Jet Black Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to sending one hundred Black women to flight school by the year 2035.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Holt Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48766012784877,"sku":"9781250347220","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/files\/img_53deb014-d21b-4cf8-94b7-70f95731ed0b.jpg?v=1758645156","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/a-pair-of-wings-9781250347220","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}