Produced in association with Smithsonian Institution s National Air and Space Museum and Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward.
Leonardo Da Vinci
From the early pioneers to the latest spaceflight technology, this ground-breaking book charts the inspirational story behind mankind s conquest of the skies.
The fascinating journey through a century of flight captures the spirit and excitement of aviation past and present, from the Wright brothers first airborne attempts to the story behind the space race.
Live through the bone-jarring, first moments of flight with pioneers such as Orville Wright, Harriet Quimby and Roland Garros. With absorbing profiles of the key personalities and the planes they flew, witness how flight became a reality. Follow the swift advances in aviation technology that took place with the onset of war, as supremacy in the skies became a crucial factor. Eyewitness accounts and striking images bring air reconnaissance, aerial bombings and spectacular dogfights to life.
Remarkable images of flying boats, airships and space rockets combine with accounts of events such as the Hindenburg disaster, the U-2 spy plane crisis and life aboard the Mir space station to make this a thrilling and encyclopedic record of aviation history. As well as fascinating and detailed profiles of over 300 of the world s greatest planes, the book also includes the latest information on the future of flight: from anti-terrorist strategies to light aircraft, pilotless planes and space vacations.
From the very first flight to landing on the moon, this seminal work provides a truly comprehensive and intriguing picture of flight.
