America's Airports: Airfield Development, 1918-1947 (Centennial of Flight Series) [Hardcover]

Janet R. Daly Bednarek (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Janet R. Daly Bednarek is an associate professor of history at the University of Dayton. She is author of the book The Changing Image of the City: Planning for Downtown Omaha, 1945–1973 and numerous articles and other contributions on aviation and urban history.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 226 pages
• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press; 1st edition (September 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585441309
• ISBN-13: 978-1585441303
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,363,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, February 8, 2002

By 

jennifer dwyer - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Airports: Airfield Development, 1918-1947 (Centennial of Flight Series) (Hardcover)

This is the best book on Airports that I have ever read. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in this important subject.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Introduction to an Important Topic, March 3, 2004

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's Airports: Airfield Development, 1918-1947 (Centennial of Flight Series) (Hardcover)

"America's Airports" is a valuable addition to the historical literature on the development of flight in the United States. One could argue that the ability to fly is the critical technology of the twentieth century and airports are a critical piece of the infrastructure of this technology. Anyone who has spent hours cooling their heels in airports--and who hasn't--will attest to their significance.

Now Janet Bednarek, one of the permier historians of aviation in America, has written a book on the rise of these institutions from their origins as grass strips to the paved runways and terminals that offered a variety of amenities. In so do, she chronicles the development of airways, air traffic control systems, and the other components of airports from restaurants to rental car agencies.

A core part of Bednarek's book is its discussion of how the airports started as private endeavors and evolved into huge government institutions with local, state, and federal involvement. How and why this took place is a critical element in the history of aviation in the United States. At a fundamental level, this resulted from the seizing of the technology of the airplane for government purposes through the air mail, military operations, etc. Additionally, the cost of operating the technology ensured that it could not remain a wholly private endeavor and that public funds had to be invested for the advancement of the air system. Most Americans accepted this as an important investment in the future of the nation and did not question these expenditures.

By 1947, Bednarek concludes, the basic system of public/private involvement in the airport infrastructure had been solidified and that is where she ends her study. I hope she will continue it in another book, bringing the history of American airports up to the recent past.