In the early days of aviation, PanAm flew flying boats across the Pacific. This is the story of one flight that started from San Fransisco and ended up in New York by flying west. While the plane was on its leg from Hawaii to Auckland New Zealand the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The company ordered the plane to fly West to New York. That was a monumental task. The lacked charts, parts, and even fuel. But somehow managed to fly from New Zealand to Australia to India to Egypt to Congo to Brazil to New York (with other stops along the way). A fascinating read.