Customer Reviews

Forward in Flight: The History of Aviation in Wisconsin

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Forward in Flight covers the development of aviation in the state of Wisconsin from the 1850s to today. It talks about the big names in aviation like Charles Lindbergh and Billy Mitchell and the minor figures as well. Until I read this book I did not know that Wisconsin was the place where the first airliner was designed and built and where the first all-metal airplanes were built. Wisconsin also had several trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific aviators who flew in the wake of Charles Lindbergh. This is a big book full of hundreds, maybe thousands of stories about backyard builders, barnstormers, men and women. I really like the detail, the little anecdotes about small northwoods airpports where local pilots flew small airplanes. I also liked the stories about the early birds of aviation who flew in the years before World War I. The explanation of the development of air mail routes was interesting and the part Wisconsin played was surprising and important. More than anything else, the book is wonderfully written. The author can take the most obscure subject and make it interesting. The photos, and there are plenty of them, are also great. This is an entertaining and beautiful book with a deceptive title. It is not just about Wisconsin, but about the entire field of aviation.