Opening paragraphs................................

In the predawn darkness of August 26, 1929, in the back bedroom of a small house in Torrence, California, a twelve-year-old by sat up in bed, listening.  There was a sound coming from outside, growing ever louder.  It was a huge, heavy rush, suggesting immensity, a great parting of air.  It was coming from directly above the house.  The boy swung his legs off the bed, raced down the stairs, slapped open the back door and loped onto the grass.  The yard was otherworldly, smothered in unnatural darkness, shivering with sound.  The boy stood on the lawn beside his older brother, head thrown back, spellbound.
-Laura Hillenbrand,  Unbroken