Air and Space: The National Air and Space Museum Story of Flight [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Andrew Chaikin (Author), Donald D. Engen (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0821220829 | ISBN-13: 978-0821220825 | Publication Date: September 1, 1997 | Edition: 1

This is a history of flight as seen through the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and its collections. The museum attracts over eight million visitors a year and features a vast collection of flight- and space-related material from all over the world, focusing mainly on US aeronautics and space exploration.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Pitched to visitors, actual or potential, to the Smithsonian's aeronautics museum in D.C., this album connects the artifacts on display with a brief history of air and space flight. Chaikin, whose A Man on the Moon (1994) is a consuming account of the Apollo program, doesn't have quite as much writing room in this predominantly visual celebration, but his captions and narrative are laconically informative, playing up odd facts about the planes. He recounts the Wright brothers' success (to which the Smithsonian can lay minor claim, having given Wilbur some pamphlets on flying--following his assurance he wasn't a "crank"), the flamboyant deadliness of World War I dogfighters, the barnstorming and racing days of the 1920s and 1930s, and the infancy of commercial aviation, the famous DC-3 being its midwife. A few photos, as of the DC-3, show the vehicle in its exhibit hall, but most pictures depict planes or rockets in action, right up through the latest images of the space age--Mars as viewed from Pathfinder. An enthusiast's delight. Gilbert Taylor

About the Author

Andrew Chaikin is the author of the highly acclaimed A Man on the Moon, the definitive history of the Apollo space flights, on which Tom Hanks' HBO epic miniseries From the Earth to the Moon was based. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 317 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch Press; 1 edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821220829
• ISBN-13: 978-0821220825
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 10.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,449,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Air and Space : The National Air and Space Museum Story, May 26, 2000

By 

M. J Bauer "Mike Bauer - Voracious Reader" (Commerce Township, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Air and Space: The National Air and Space Museum Story of Flight (Hardcover)

Worth it for the photos alone. The writer shares with us his life long love of aviation. He explores the history of aviation in a fashion that will please the expert as well as the curious.

He uses the Smithsonian collection to make points about the hsitory of aviation. The book is not limited to a description about the collection, th e history is augmented with photos and anecdotes. A great book for enthusiasts, history buffs, fans of photography and readers in general

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, May 16, 2004

By 

Alex Salazar (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Air and Space: The National Air and Space Museum Story of Flight (Hardcover)

A good history of flight coupled with excellent photographs. Recommended.