Pioneer Aviators of the World: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Pilots of 100 Countries - Hardcover

Matthews, Hart; Kealy, William J.

9780786415229: Pioneer Aviators of the World: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Pilots of 100 Countries

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786415223 ISBN 13: 9780786415229

Publisher: McFarland Publishing, 2003

Provides biographical information on the first aviators from one hundred countries, including a description of their attempts to fly.

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About the Author:

Hart Matthews is a freelance writer and photographer. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

From Booklist:

December 17, 2003, marked the 100th anniversary of the first sustained, manned flight in a heavier-than-air machine. That 12-second flight fueled the dreams and ambitions of people around the world. This dictionary covering the first pilots from 100 countries honors the achievement of the Wright brothers and the accomplishments of aviators worldwide. Although the fliers were from diverse backgrounds, they shared some common ground. Many, like the Wright brothers, were inventors or engineers intrigued with solving the challenge of flight. Others, like Hungary's Ehrich Weiss (aka Harry Houdini), were daredevils in love with the idea of flying.

The entries are arranged by country and vary greatly in length. The U.S. entry on the Wright brothers runs for 11 pages. Documentation and information about pilots from some other countries, among them Albania, Finland, and Uganda, proved more elusive. As a result some entries are little more than a few sentences. Criteria for inclusion required that the pilot flew solo and took off from level ground in a heavier-than-air machine over which he exercised some level of control. Many of the noted flights did not take place in the pilot's country of origin. Some entries favor ancestry over country of birth. For example, the Armenian pilot was actually born in France of Armenian parents. He is Armenia's first because no Armenian-born pilot was found.

A short glossary, a chronology, and bibliography are included. Wonderful photographs, some never before published, accompany most entries. Except for the very brief entries this compilation makes for compelling reading. It explores the scientific challenges involved in building a plane, the sometimes bitter conflicts over who flew first, and the lasting impact flight has had on the world. The dictionary provides an interesting international approach to the fascinating history of flight that public, secondary-school, and college libraries will find useful. RBB
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