Wings: A History Of Aviation From Kites To The Space Age

Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age

From BooklistAviation buffs will love Crouch's history of the industry's century-long technological ascent from gliders to jetliners and stealth bombers. Better yet, the author incorporates the business side of the industry into his narrative, reminding admirers of particular planes that they express attempts to make flying pay (except for military and research planes, of course). Making money has always been a challenge in aviation; the Wright brothers did so, barely, but their company and hundreds of successors in manufacturing have vanished. Crouch tracks the shakeouts and mergers as much as he does the development of classics such as the DC-3 and Boeing 707. The evolution of military aircraft and, particularly, their pilots also receives his attention. The still-famous aces of World War I are recalled in the most detail, as are aviators of the 1920s and 1930s such as Bessie Coleman, Charles Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart. Gilbert TaylorCopyright