Wings : a history of aviation from kites to the space age / Tom D. Crouch.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Crouch, Tom D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aeronautics--History.

Aeronautics.

History.

Physical Description:

ix, 725 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum ; New York : W.W. Norton, [2003]

Summary:

THE INVENTION OF THE AIRPLANE ushered in the modern age--a new era of global commerce, revolutionary technologies, and total war. Whatever the practical consequences, the sheer exhilaration of flight captured the imagination. No longer bound to the surface of the earth, humans took the first steps on a journey that would eventually carry them to other worlds. Tom Crouch weaves the people, machines, and ideas of the air age into a compelling narrative. He tells how the enthusiasm of amateurs spawned an industry that determined the rise and fall of nations. Yet this is not a tale of unalloyed progress. Moments of exaltation were tempered by bitter disappointment and stark terror. Blind alleys were the price of technical progress. In the end, there is no more fascinating cast of characters than those who wrote history in the sky. Theirs is a fascinating story of realizing an extraordinary dream and riding it.

Contents:

Foundation stories

Taking to the air

The world takes wing, 1904-1909

From experiment to industry, 1909-1914

Into the fight: the airplane at war, 1914-1918

Laying the foundation, 1919-1927

Big business, 1927-1935

The roar of the crowd, 1927-1939

Revolutions in the sky, 1926-1941

Setting the stage, 1929-1939

Battles in the sky, 1939-1945

Toward new horizons

From aviation to aerospace, 1945-2003

Cold war, hot war

A world in the air, 1945-2003.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [677]-690) and index.

ISBN:

0393057674

OCLC:

52775137