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.
- ISBN10 1322488827
- ISBN13 9781322488820
- Publish Date 17 December 2014 (first published 1 October 2013)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 4 March 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint ONEWorld Publications
- Format eBook
- Language English