Customer Reviews

BIPLANE TO MONOPLANE: Aircraft Development 1919-39 (History of Aircraft)

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This is a good introduction to an age of great change in aviation. As is normal in a volume out of a series that wants to be a complete history of aviation, this book is rather encyclopedic in nature. That means that in some chapters all detail is sacrificed to create a complete overview, which tends towards the boring. This tendency is balanced, however, by very informative chapters on such specialized subjects as the development of the retractable landing gear, which make the book interesting even for readers who already know a lot of the history of aviation. Overall it is a successful combination.

Every chapter is written by a different author, and the quality of the text varies with the author's knowledge of the subject. The chapters on structures and landing gear development betray deep interest and personal involvement. In the chapter on aircraft armament, on the other hand, numerous errors betray a lack of knowledge about the subject, and one almost feels for the unfortunate writer who was asked to compile this.

This is a handsome and interesting book; though more a work of reference than an engrossing read.

The entire History of Aircraft is a worthwhile series, mainly because it features chapters written by a variety of writers, each (supposedly) a specialist on the topic in question. And the distribution of subjects, some more technical than others, is fairly well-done.

However, in this volume in particular, the emphasis on British aircraft and their design is a bit excessive. Yes, the series is British, but I'm sure that Putnam intended it for worldwide distribution, and there should have been a better attempt made at balance.

Unfortunately, only 6 of the 12 intended volumes in the series were published before then-current imprint owner Chrysalis decided to get out of the book business. I hope eventually that current imprint owner Anova decides to at least publish the remaining books in the series.