IN FULL FLIGHT : A STORY OF AFRICA AND ATONEMENT
by John Heminway

When Anne Spoerry died in February 1999, it seemed as if all of East Africa turned out for the funeral. Thousands of people from mostly Kenya came to pay their last respects to the woman they called "Mama Daktari," Mother Doctor. For almost fifty years, Dr. Spoerry had treated over a million patients and they considered her to be a saint. As an esteemed member of the Flying Doctors Service, Dr. Spoerry (she didn't learn to fly until she was forty-five years old) would take to the skies in her plane called "Zulu Tango" and travel to wherever she was needed no matter how risky. She had quite a heroic career, but that was only part of her life. In 1948, after World War II ended, Dr, Spoerry had to get out of Europe away from the demons that were chasing her. She had been in the French Resistance, taken prisoner, and ended up in the women's concentration camp: Ravensbruck. It was here that her nightmares truly began. Apparently, she was one of those "doctors."
What an incredible story masterfully told and written by a wonderful author. John Heminway actually knew Dr. Spoerry for twenty years and flew out to Africa several times to meet with her. As a journalist, he wanted to interview her and eventually do a documentary. He was just as passionate about Africa as she was and hoping that since they were kindred spirits (he thought), it would be time well spent. The only thing was that he had to keep to the subject of her treating the people and not bring in anything else. Whenever Heminway tried to probe about where she was during World War II and dealing with the Germans, Spoerry clammed up and either changed the subject or stormed out of the room. This only made Heminway more intrigued and he realized that he would have to dig quite deeply to uncover Spoerry's secretive past. He would have to wait until she passed away to reveal the darkness.
In Full Flight  is quite a tale and keeps you at the end of your seat. Having never heard of her before (most of her friends thought they knew her), it's quite a feat to be able to break through such a complicated persona. This is a book not to be missed.
Very highly recommended.