The Glass Guitar by Marshall Riggan is a uniquely entertaining tale, filled with adventure, close-calls, chase scenes and quiet moments of reflection about right and wrong and a different perspective on life. We follow Walter Woodrow Pillow, a design engineer working at a bomber factory, who helps in the production of a military aircraft during the Vietnam war days, and whose conscience gets the better of him.
Realizing that as much as he loves designing and crafting planes, he cannot stand by and permit aircraft of such destructive power to be used against people. So one day he sabotages all but one of the bombers and quits. Following no plan or itinerary, Wally finds himself meeting both like-minded people and eccentrics, mostly living off the grid, and who, like him, have a passion for justice. The adventures that ensue are both entertaining and, in some respects, eye-opening, as Wally and his new-found friends try to do good wherever they go, only to be pursued at every juncture by government agents determined to bring Wally to justice for what he did.
Riggan does a fine job of making the time-period authentic, with people and events of the mid-60s era, including an exciting episode with Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose, the largest wooden aircraft ever made. The story spans many locations and keeps you bouncing along with this dauntless group of seemingly wayward people – and yet, souls who speak to us on another level. A fun and enjoyable read.
