14 h 25 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 25 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the life everyone expects of you is the one life you cannot bear to live?
In a small Minnesota town, Carl Ericson grows up in a Scandinavian immigrant family. His neighbors expect him to learn a trade, marry and stay close to home. But Carl wants movement and purpose. He dreams of going somewhere new and doing something no one has done before.
The Trail of the Hawk follows Carl into the wider world, where wandering teaches him many trades. Sinclair Lewis brings humor to this restless coming-of-age story, poking fun at people who mistake being settled for being wise. Against a world where flying machines are still new and strange, Carl searches for room to shape his own life.
What you’ll discover
- A boy looking outward Meet Carl, whose hunger for movement pushes against the narrow life his neighbors imagine.
- Lessons along the road Follow a wandering life as new places and different trades broaden Carl's world.
- The hawk's promise Explore an image of freedom: a creature that goes where it likes and sees from above.
- Humor with affection Enjoy Lewis's fondness for his restless hero, even when Carl acts foolishly.
- An early Lewis novel Discover his eye for small towns, restless young men and the pull of the open road.
Who will love it
Readers who love coming-of-age stories, restless young Americans, early aviation and warm, funny romance will feel at home here. It suits anyone who has ever wanted to leave town.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A backyard general runs away from home
- A lost night teaches Carl a lasting lesson
- A small town shapes a boy who wants out
- Love for Gertie pulls Carl toward college
- At Plato College a teacher opens a new world
- Carl stands up in chapel and leaves Plato
- Carl wanders the country and learns hard work
- Learning to fly makes Carl a celebrity
- Success sours when friends begin to fall
- Two women pull Carl in opposite directions
- Marriage tests the wanderer and his playmate
Who’s who
- Carl EricsonA Norwegian-American carpenter's son from Joralemon, Minnesota, who wants to see the world and becomes the famous aviator Hawk Ericson.
- Gertie CowlesA well-mannered neighbor and Carl's childhood companion, who wants him to become a respectable, refined and settled man.
- Bone StillmanAn outcast farmer and freethinker who befriends the boy and urges him never to stop exploring or take anything for granted.
- Henry FrazerA young Plato College professor of English whose lectures on poetry, drama and socialism open Carl's mind and cost him his job.
- Forrest HavilandAn army lieutenant and fellow student pilot who becomes Carl's dearest friend and teaches him to be at ease with anyone.
- Ruth WinslowA lively New Yorker from a comfortable family who wants a playmate and a life beyond the expectations of Society.
- Martin DockerillCarl's loyal, plainspoken mechanic, a lanky Yankee who can build an engine from scrap and treats Carl as an equal.
- Phil DunleavyA well-dressed, sarcastic young lawyer and Ruth's longtime friend, who becomes Carl's rival and later his friend.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Trail of the Hawk
by Sinclair Lewis · 1915
A restless carpenter's son from Minnesota runs from college and chases the sky in Sinclair Lewis's novel.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Carl Ericson is eight years old, standing in a dark woodshed in Joralemon, Minnesota. He hates piling wood, so he stages a battle with nail soldiers led by General Door-Hinge.
The Trail of the Hawk at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 25 min6 h 40 min fast, 10 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 120,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1915by Sinclair Lewis
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A backyard general runs away from home
In October 1893 Carl Ericson, aged eight, is serving a punishment in the woodshed. He has chased the family rooster thirteen times, and now he must pile the wood. He turns the job into a war, with nails for soldiers and a bent door hinge as General Door-Hinge.
Then he meets Gertie Cowles, a tidy, self-satisfied ten-year-old who has just moved in next door. Carl invites her to run away and find her cousin, an army officer in San Francisco. She says her mamma would never allow it, and an hour later she follows him down the railroad track anyway.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1915
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Lewis, Sinclair. The Trail of the Hawk. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-trail-of-the-hawk.
Lewis, S. (2026). The trail of the Hawk. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-trail-of-the-hawk (Original work published 1915)
Lewis, Sinclair. The Trail of the Hawk. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-trail-of-the-hawk.
@book{lewis2026trail,
author = {Lewis, Sinclair},
title = {The Trail of the Hawk},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-trail-of-the-hawk},
note = {First published 1915}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Trail of the Hawk
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Trail of the Hawk about?
It follows Carl Ericson, a Minnesota carpenter's son, from a boyhood of dreaming to work as a chauffeur, a hobo, an actor and a famous early aviator, and then to love and marriage in New York.
Why is Carl Ericson called Hawk?
A newspaper reporter called him the New Hawk of the Birdmen after his first solo flight at Bagby's flying school. His fellow students shortened it, and the name stuck as a sign of affection.
Who are Gertie Cowles and Ruth Winslow?
Gertie is Carl's childhood neighbor, a refined girl who wants him settled and respectable. Ruth is the New Yorker he meets later, a lively companion who shares his love of play and adventure.
The author
Sinclair Lewis
1885–1951 · American novelist
Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist and the first writer from the United States to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Babbitt, his satire of small-city boosterism and middle-class conformity, added a new word to the American vocabulary.
More by Sinclair Lewis
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
