A journey through 1969 America.

I’m excited to share my book review for Flightless Falcon by James Charles Smith. Thank you to @TheWriteReads, James Charles Smith, and Brown Books Publishing Group for providing me with a reviewer copy of this book.

Book Synopsis

In this Vietnam-era coming of age novel, a young man abandons military life and becomes an eyewitness to America’s deep divisions over the war.

Adrift and alone in 1969 America, a young man takes to the road.

When Sam Roberts resigns from the Air Force Academy, his father is furious. His mother is understanding but offers little support. All Sam knows is he doesn’t believe in the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War and he can’t be part of it any longer.

Cut loose from a life he once believed in and the woman he once loved, Sam hitchhikes across the country in search of himself. As a passenger in the countless cars who stop to offer rides, he encounters people from all walks of life: Hispanic youths on their way to a quinceañera, retired WWII veterans with surprisingly different perspectives on the war, even a hippie who just left the military himself. His journey is an eye-opening tour through the polarized politics of 1960s America, a transporting exchange of ideas that sends Sam on his way to becoming the man he’s meant to be.

Book Review

James Charles Smith’s Flightless Falcon is a fictional coming-of-age novel set in 1960s—early ’70s America. The book starts with sobering facts about the injury and death toll of the Vietnam War. Those facts sit with you as you meet Sam Roberts, the protagonist, who is leaving the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. You learn that Sam is going because the Vietnam War wasn’t a war he agreed with, and being in the service meant inevitable deployment. His feelings of having disappointed his family by leaving are clear. With little money and after leaving his great love, Cheryl, behind, Sam relies on hitchhikers to get him back home to his family.

Sam’s circumstances make the readers feel empathetic to Sam from the start. Sam is easily likable, and I found him brave, as leaving everything behind to take a different path is difficult. The people readers meet along Sam’s journey back home elevate the story. Smith’s excellent use of the characters he met throughout his journey to help the reader understand how different people thought and felt at that time is a testament to his creativity.

Music is an equally creative way to highlight the period and help readers remember the strife written into the music of that time. Music feels like a tertiary character as it relays feelings, emotions, and memories in a unique and powerful way.

The alternating of past and present through flashbacks could be clearer but gives readers a perspective of how Sam made his choices. Smith uses this tactic to break up the scenes of his journey home.

My Rating and Recommendation

More than just a coming-of-age story, this book often feels like an autobiography. It’s not just well-written; it’s also easy and fun to read. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction and coming-of-age stories, offering a compelling and enjoyable narrative.

About the Author

James Charles Smith is a talented author who embarked on a journey from journalism to engineering before finding his true calling as a novelist. Born in Texas, he traveled widely as a US Air Force brat and then with his own wife and kids. He first attended college at the United States Air Force Academy and resigned during his first year, which is the inspiration for this story. He is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism from the University of Missouri. Following journalism school, he worked for various newspapers before settling down in television production. He worked for ten years as a writer, editor, cameraman, and producer/director, but it’s a family tradition to change one’s mind.

To better provide for his family, James returned to school for an engineering degree. As both an engineer and engineering manager, his duties included the writing and publishing of technical reports, engineering investigations, and training materials. Serving as a consultant to the Electric Power Research Institute, he edited their report on the instrumentation and control upgrade plan for the commercial nuclear power industry. Currently, he lives with his dog, Abel, in the foothills of Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Flightless Falcon is his first novel.

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