Donnie’s adventures take readers into many of the events that helped shape the American twentieth century. They begin when sixteen-year-old Donnie gets caught up in the patriotic swirl of the first World War. Enlisting in the Army, he becomes a skilled mechanic and pilot during the deadly days at the end of the fighting. The stakes in Donnie’s life are just as high after the war. Along with a friend of his dad’s and an army buddy, he successfully creates an air delivery service, then has to wrestle with wealthy investors and politicians who have designs on his company. A near fatal plane crash ends Donnie’s air service. Later he is hired to drive a cab for an ambitious mobster before bumping into the man who taught him to fly, American ace Eddie Rickenbacker. It is a chance meeting that changes Donnie’s life. Captain Eddie’s new passenger air company becomes Donnie’s ticket to new adventures including befriending Japanese detainees during World War II, becoming enmeshed in struggles with labor bullies and helping to free his brother in law from the demons he carried back with him after service in Korea. Later, having seen enough war, Donnie helps six young men avoid the Vietnam war by perilously flying them to Canada. Woven throughout Donnie’s adventures are the threads of close friendships and a rich family life that provides contentment even in times of travail.