Revised and updated through the end of the century, this engagingly written, authoriative work provides a one-volume history of aviation, from ancient inventors to modern space stations. The result is a breathtaking record of human progress over the centuries, and mankind's irresistible ability to turn dreams into reality.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Humanity has been defying gravity with powered vehicles for less than a century, and earlier with gliders and balloons with mixed success. Our aviation history is of such complexity and density that it can stagger anyone who studies it closely. Harrison (history, Hunter Coll.), whose field is ordinarily Asian history, has produced a densely packed panorama on a specialized and extraordinary subject. He portrays a century's parade of victories in rapid succession with defeats and setbacks sprinkled around to keep us humble and courage and ingenuity enough for a dozen lifetimes of study. He also tells the story of a science and technology and so requires a seemingly endless cataract of facts, statistics, dates, and numbers. It is inevitable that in such an all-encompassing history of flight, the inevitable errors creep in, like Ben Franklin's use of a balloon for his lightning experiments instead of a kite or the date of the Absolute Speed Record (off by a day). But these are swept away in the headlong rush to tell the story of the development of the most important invention of our century. Recommended especially for public libraries.?Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Harrison's overview of aviation history tries to take in everything from Daedalus to TWA flight 800 and from the Frisbee to the space shuttle in less than 400 pages. If it does not succeed, it is still an admirable failure. Former air force pilot Harrison clearly loves the miracle of flight and those who have brought it about, and he tries to do justice to as many persons and machines as possible. So he marshals a vast amount of raw data, but poor organization and some glaring errors suggest the effort needed more editing than it got. On the other hand, Harrison offers an imposing and up-to-date reading list, and he totally avoids the technophobic condescension that mars much recent academic material on aviation history. Hardly perfect, this volume is still useful and definitely fun. Roland Green
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: Mastering The Sky: A History Of Aviation From Ancient Times To Present (Hardcover)
just a very easy read about the history of flying....I am sure everybody will enjoy it.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Up-to-Date History of Aviation,
This review is from: Mastering the Sky: A History of Aviation from Ancient Times to the Present (Paperback)
Mastering the Sky tells the exciting story of aviation in historical perspective. The author is a former Air Force pilot who became a published historian. It begins with the take-off of a Boeing 747, asking how one can lift over 400 tons higher than Mt. Everest in a matter of minutes. It gives answers to such questions, as it flashes back to the mythology of flight and comes forward to the 20th century, including space flight. It is current through 2000, three years before the centenary of the Wright Brothers first flights.It is current through 2000.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mastering the Sky will be published as a paperback in 2000,
This review is from: Mastering The Sky: A History Of Aviation From Ancient Times To Present (Hardcover)
The author has slightly expanded and updated through 1999 this book for publication in the spring of 2000.
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First Sentence:
Here we go! Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
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New York, United States, Michael Collins, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Amelia Earhart, Bill Gunston, Soviet Union, Edmond Petit, Great War, Cape Canaveral, North American, Orville Wright, Courtesy of the Smithsonian, General Electric, Jimmy Doolittle, Kitty Hawk, San Diego, United Airlines, Air France, China Clipper, Flight Through the Ages, The Pioneer Years, Frank Borman, South Atlantic New!
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Here we go! Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ornithopter flight, tower jumpers Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Michael Collins, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Amelia Earhart, Bill Gunston, Soviet Union, Edmond Petit, Great War, Cape Canaveral, North American, Orville Wright, Courtesy of the Smithsonian, General Electric, Jimmy Doolittle, Kitty Hawk, San Diego, United Airlines, Air France, China Clipper, Flight Through the Ages, The Pioneer Years, Frank Borman, South Atlantic New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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2
books
cite this book:
- Flight in America: From the Wrights to the Astronauts by Roger E. Bilstein on 7 pages
- Century of Flight by Bill Gunston on 6 pages
- Empires of the Sky: The Politics, Contests, and Cartels of World Airlines by Anthony Sampson on 5 pages
- Barons of the Sky: From Early Flight to Strategic Warfare: The Story of the American Aerospace Industry by Wayne Biddle on 5 pages
- Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation (Sloan Technology) by T. A. Heppenheimer on 5 pages
See all 100 books this book cites
- Engineering the City: How Infrastructure Works by Matthys Levy in Back Matter
- Reconsidering a Century of Flight by Roger D. Launius in Back Matter
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