WINGS FOR LIFE

Often paralleling the intentions but not the successes of Amelia Earhart, the airborne career of Ruth Nichols appears to be a tragic sequence of crashes and mechanical failures. The aviatrix who set records for speed, distance and attitude never could fulfill her wish to be ""First"" in crossing the Atlantic, in flying around the world. The birth and growth of her vocation which began while she was still in college continues today as an administrator in the medical branch of the Civil Air Patrol. In contests, East-West flights demonstrations, Miss Nichol's abilities always seemed to be undermined by the mechanical inadequacies of her ship. In the midst of all the gore, broken vertebrae and broken hearts, Miss Nichols emerged Pollyannalike triumphant claiming that her failures were also a contribution to aircraft -- which claim, we suppose, in the justification for writing the book. Nevertheless her fame will provoke recall and spur a curious market. There's some excitement too, but we tire of the blood and the self-appraisals.