The Early Birds by Arch Whitehouse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is a good read about the early history of human flight from (mostly failed experimentation) in heavier-than-air amid successful lighter-than-air (baloon) flights. Along the way, hoaxes, near misses, a colorful American-in-Britain named "Colonel" Cody (no relation) and a bleeding mass of wreckage and carnage plots the progress of the pioneers. The numerous prizes and innovation-spurring prize money reminds me of this current era of the "X-Prize" and such prize money tempted engineering feats such as commerical space flights and robot vehicles.
The book goes roughly from the 18th Century to World War I and is basically a story of Europe (led by France), an unreliable American showing and a lagging Britain.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment