Deliverance by James Dickey (in 2001, named as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century, as chosen by the editorial board of the Modern Library.)
... gyro will also be accelerated to a smaller extent by the slipping friction.
The device is covered by US patents 3,726,146 (1973) and 5,353,655 (1994) by L.A. ...