The wonder of flight has long captured the human imagination. In this beguiling history – ranging from the first aircraft to astronauts and beyond – David Darling tells the stories of the true life adventurers whose wonder has translated into bizarre contraptions, magnificent achievements and, sometimes, startling folly.
Discover outrageous attempts to fly like a bird and fall from the edge of space. Meet Napoleonic ballooniste Sophie Blanchard and her daredevil husband; the real “X-Men” who flew the supersonic experimental “X-planes” for the US Air Force; stuntman Lincoln Beachey, looping-the-loop in a pinstripe suit; and, of course, The Rocket Man himself: Yves Rossy, who in 2006 was the first person to cross the English Channel using a jet-pack.
Eccentric and reckless, Darling’s daring cast of dreamers is guaranteed to entertain and inspire.
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
ISBN: 9781780742977
Number of pages: 216
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 21 mm
“A consummate collection of tales of the fearless and the feckless. Darling treats his subject with an authority tempered by the gentle humour that is the mark of a great story-teller.” - Justin Pollard, author of The Interesting Bits: The History You Might Have Missed
‘David Darling has cleverly avoided wheeling out all the old familiar names… a rollicking, rip-roaring tale. 4 stars.’ - Popular Science
“Gripping… dazzling tales of madness and derring do.” - Brian Clegg, author of Inflight Science
“A hugely enjoyable roller-coaster aerial ride in the company of oddballs and heroes, complete with vertiginous frights, dances of death, lonely impulses of delight and acts of mindless masochism in the name of science.” - Jonathan Glancey, author of Spitfire: The Biography
"Gripping... dazzling tales of madness and derring-do." - Brian Clegg, author of Inflight Science
"A hugely enjoyable roller-coaster aerial ride in the company of oddballs and heroes, complete with acts of mindless msochism in the name of science." - Jonathan Clancy, author of Spitfire: The Biography
“Impressive.” - Wall Street Journal
“A mix of good old-fashioned silliness and some fine science writing.” - BBC Focus
Full of brave, idiotic, adventurous, crazy aviators of all kinds, without some of whom you ultimately wouldn't be able to have that 50p flight to Ibiza for your hols.
In an age where footballers can be...
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From ballooning to base jumping, David Darling explores some of the most amazing aeronautical exploits in the history of flight. Whether you have a previous interest in this subject or not, the different chapters race... More
This is a fascinating book on the men who,either through the need to explore and improve the means and safety of flight or just plain bonkersness attempted to try their hand at building and flying various... More
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