Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age, from Antiquity through the First World War - Hardcover

Hallion, Richard P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195160355 ISBN 13: 9780195160352

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2003

Synopsis

The invention of flight represents the culmination of centuries of thought and desire. Kites and rockets sparked our collective imagination. Then the balloon gave humanity its first experience aloft, though at the mercy of the winds. The steerable airship that followed had more practicality, yet a number of insurmountable limitations. But the airplane truly launched the Aerial Age, and its subsequent impact--from the vantage of a century after the Wright Brother's historic flight on December 17, 1903--has been extraordinary.
Richard Hallion, a distinguished international authority on aviation, offers a bold new examination of aircraft history, stressing its global roots. The result is an interpretive history of uncommon sweep, complexity, and warmth. Taking care to place each technological advance in the context of its own period as well as that of the evolving era of air travel, this ground-breaking work follows the pre-history of flight, the work of balloon and airship advocates, fruitless early attempts to invent the airplane, the Wright brothers and other pioneers, the impact of air power on the outcome of World War I, and finally the transfer of prophecy into practice as flight came to play an ever-more important role in world affairs, both military and civil.
Making extensive use of extracts from the journals, diaries, and memoirs of the pioneers themselves, and interspersing them with a wide range or rare photographs and drawings, Taking Flight leads readers to the laboratories and airfields where aircraft were conceived and tested. Forcefully yet gracefully written in rich detail and with thorough documentation, this book is certain to be the standard reference for years to come on how humanity came to take to the sky, and what the Aerial Age has meant to the world since da Vinci's first fantastical designs.

About this title

About the Author:

Author of numerous award-winning books and formerly the Air Force Historian, Richard Hallion teaches widely at American and foreign universities and defense colleges. He has gained flying experience as a mission observer in a wide range of civil and military aircraft, served as a NASA historian, and in 1974, joined the Smithsonian Institution as one of the founding curators of the National Air and Space Museum.

Review:

"Comprehensive and balanced... Hallion's account offers convincing support for his conclusion 'that had the Wrights never lived, the airplaine would have been invented in Europe, in all likelihood France, by the year 1910. It seems probably that many other technological breakthroughs are similarly characterized by a limited scope of contingency--an aspect worth remembering during celebrations of their anniversaries."--Science

"One of those truly wonderful historical studies that is not only thorough, informed, and completely reliable, but also a joy to read. Richard Hallion has made an important contribution to aviation history while offering a rare gift to readers everywhere."--Reeve Lindbergh

"A singular accomplishment in the study of the history of aviation, and technology in general. This wonderfully insightful book from our foremost historian of flight should be required reading for all students of aerospace engineering, the history of technology, and those who are simply enamored with the notion of flight."--Mark Lewis, A. J. Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland

"Masterful.... Dick Hallion is the best."--Michael Collins, astronaut and former Director, National Air & Space Museum

"Anyone who has ever tried to defy gravity--whether as an aerospace engineer or as a passenger in seat 36B on a commercial airliner--will find this extraordinary book exciting and uplifting. It proves once again that truth is more fascinating than fiction. It is a must read."--Norman R. Augustine, Retired Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation

"Any reader of Taking Flight is in good hands. Hallion writes with a confidence born of long labor in the vineyard, and the result is a tour of the years that encompasses the beginnings of human flight narrated by the best guide imaginable. Prepare to shed your biases and watch as myths explode before you, one by one."--George C. Larson, Editor, Air & Space Magazine

"Quality writing and solid research combine to make Hallion's study a major contribution to the centennial of the Wright brothers' landmark achievement."--Library Journal

"Hallion, an international authority on aviation, draws on journals, diaries, and memoirs of aviation pioneers.... Filled with rare photographs and drawings, a decisive work on the history of flying."--Booklist

"Comprehensive and balanced."--Science

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0195160355
• ISBN 13: 9780195160352
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 531