{"product_id":"stone-age-astronaut-liam-callanan-9781976600913","title":"Stone Age Astronaut: The Astonishing Adventures of America's Forgotten Flier","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA soaring adventure, a riveting biography, and a reclamation of a great American story lost to history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eStone Age Astronaut\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, award-winning author \u003cb\u003eLiam Callanan\u003c\/b\u003e uncovers the astonishing life of \u003cb\u003eLester Maitland\u003c\/b\u003e--the Milwaukee-born aviator who, in 1927, became the first person to fly to Hawaii, earning national acclaim on par with Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic triumph. For a brief moment, the two men shared headlines, White House invitations, and fame. But while Lindbergh's legacy grew, Maitland's all but vanished.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCallanan brings Maitland back into the spotlight, tracing his meteoric early career: flight instructor at nineteen; one of the US Army's first test pilots; the first American to fly faster than 200 mph; and the pioneering airman whose Pacific crossing earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJust twenty-two days after becoming Executive Officer of the Far East Air Service Command--\u003cb\u003eand one day after Pearl Harbor\u003c\/b\u003e--Maitland witnessed the destruction of much of the Far East Air Force in the Philippines. Later, he commanded the 386th Bomb Group in Europe, making him \u003cb\u003eWorld War II's oldest bomber pilot\u003c\/b\u003e, only to be abruptly and mysteriously retired weeks before D-Day. After the war, Maitland experienced a series of professional and personal disappointments, and he quietly faded into obscurity. He eventually became an Episcopal priest, serving small parishes far from the glamour of his early days in the cockpit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe pages of Stone Age Astronaut hum with the tension and excitement of early aviation, rendered in a richly detailed narrative and Callanan's research--spanning archives, newspapers, interviews, and travel to key sites--to reveal the remarkable sweep of Lester Maitland's world. Along the way, readers encounter a constellation of notable figures: \u003cb\u003eAmelia Earhart, Billy Mitchell, Ernest Hemingway, Gerald Ford, Richard Bong, the Dole Pineapple King, Harry Houdini\u003c\/b\u003e, and even a Skull and Bones-affiliated aviation official.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith sparkling prose and a storyteller's instinct for detail, Callanan resurrects a man whose life intersected with major events, eras, and personalities--but who has inexplicably slipped through the cracks of American memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA gripping portrait of ambition, innovation, fame, failure, and reinvention--and the enduring human urge to fly--Stone Age Astronaut ensures that Lester Maitland's extraordinary story will no longer be forgotten. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Liam Callanan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 197660091X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781976600913\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Wisconsin Historical Society Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Liam Callanan","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48852721402111,"sku":"9781976600913","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/stone-age-astronaut-liam-callanan-9781976600913","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}