13 h 15 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 15 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if love, war, and personal fortune follow patterns that a person can learn to read?
In William D. Gann’s The Tunnel Thru the Air, Robert Gordon is a bright young man drawn toward invention and larger responsibilities. Love and the threat of war shape his path. Around him, aircraft, radio, and new machines change how people imagine conflict. His story brings romance into a world of technology and uncertain futures.
Gann, an American trader, uses fiction to explore a belief central to his work: that markets, nations, and individual lives move in repeating cycles. He treats the novel as more than entertainment, suggesting that its pages hold lessons about forecasting. Beneath Robert’s story lies a question: can studying the patterns of time help people anticipate what comes next?
What you’ll discover
- An inventor with larger responsibilities Follow Robert Gordon as his talents draw him toward invention and greater demands.
- Love beside the threat of war Explore a romance set against new technology and the possibility of conflict.
- The search for repeating patterns Consider Gann’s belief that shared rhythms connect prices, politics, and personal fortune.
- Lessons beneath the story Look beyond the plot to the forecasting ideas Gann invites readers to study.
- An unusual blend of interests Discover a personal novel where market thinking meets romance, prophecy, and invention.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like romance and invention side by side, letters and poems woven into a story, and scripture read as prophecy.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Faith gives a boy his direction
- Love asks Robert to abandon jealousy
- Scripture becomes a guide to invention
- Flight and marriage become one plan
- An empty berth tests his faith
- Success cannot replace the missing Marie
- War places the country in his hands
- Prediction becomes a duty to prepare
- His ambitions grow from human bonds
Who’s who
- Robert GordonA Texas farm boy who studies the Bible for the key to inventions and markets, and who wants to marry Marie and protect his country.
- Marie StantonA wealthy young woman from Texarkana who believes in Robert, encourages him with letters and poems, and promises to wait with faith.
- Walter KennelworthRobert's closest friend and a gifted chemist who wants to invent a way to end wars without killing.
- J.H. KennelworthWalter's father, a Texarkana lumberman who backs Robert's forecasts and treats him like a second son.
- Amelia GordonRobert's devout mother, who teaches him the Bible, defends his dreams and hopes he will become a peacemaker.
- Edna QuintonRobert's loyal secretary who becomes Walter's wife and a skilled inventor, trusted with the most secret machines.
- Henry WatsonAn aged Wall Street veteran who warns Robert about greed and tells the story of the sweetheart he lost.
- General PearsonA senior officer of the Aviation Corps who sees Robert's ability and stands by him when others doubt.
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.
25 languages, side by side
The Tunnel Thru the Air in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Tunnel Thru the Air
by William D. Gann · 1927
A Texas farm boy reads Ezekiel as a blueprint for a four-winged airplane and bets a thousand dollars on cotton.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
Picture a boy in Texas around 1917 pedaling a bicycle with cedar wheels and automobile inner tubes across a lake. He wants to ride on water now and to meet the Lord in the air someday.
The Tunnel Thru the Air at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 40 min6 h 5 min fast, 9 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 108,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1927by William D. Gann
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 Texas farm boy raised on scripture
Robert Gordon is born late on Saturday night, June 9, 1906, in a farmhouse near Texarkana. His mother, Amelia, is a devoted student of the Bible and hopes he will become a preacher. His father, Calvin, grows cotton on the Red River bottomlands.
A sermon describes believers rising through clouds to join the Lord, and Robert wonders for months what vehicle could carry them. He tells his mother he wants to meet the Lord in the air, and she says he will someday.
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
- 1927
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Gann, William D. The Tunnel Thru the Air. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-tunnel-thru-the-air.
Gann, W. D. (2026). The tunnel thru the air. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-tunnel-thru-the-air (Original work published 1927)
Gann, William D. The Tunnel Thru the Air. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-tunnel-thru-the-air.
@book{gann2026tunnel,
author = {Gann, William D.},
title = {The Tunnel Thru the Air},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-tunnel-thru-the-air},
note = {First published 1927}
}
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 Tunnel Thru the Air
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 Tunnel Thru the Air about?
It follows Robert Gordon, a Texas farm boy who studies the Bible for the secrets of cycles and inventions. It combines his love for Marie Stanton, his market fortune, his inventions and a future war in the air.
Who wrote The Tunnel Thru the Air and when?
The novel is by William D. Gann, whose preface bears the date May 9, 1927. Gann is known for his writing on markets and cycles, and the novel shows these interests in a story.
What is the tunnel in the title?
The tunnel is an invention Robert plans in wartime. It is a passage created in the air by electric currents and a vacuum, so that planes can pass unseen and enemy aircraft can be trapped.
The author
William D. Gann
American trader and financial writer
William Delbert Gann (1878–1955) was an American financial trader and writer. He was born near Lufkin, Texas, and later lived in New York City. He wrote books about financial markets, including Truth of the Stock Tape (1923). His novel The Tunnel Thru the Air was published in 1927.
More 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
