F. Robert Van Der Linden

In 1927, 25-year-old American aviator Charles Lindbergh earned international fame by making the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean (and won a prize of $25,000 in the bargain). This lively book, a publication of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, celebrates that great accomplishment in words and images. Museum curators Dominick Pisano and F. Robert van der Linden draw on the Smithsonian's holdings (among them Lindbergh's then-state-of-the-art monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis) to offer a portrait of the famed pilot in the context of his time. They emphasize Lindbergh's calculated daring--he did not carry a parachute or heavy radio, for instance, reckoning that neither would be useful should he have to ditch at sea--and his abilities, unusual for a man of his age and the time. They also chart Lindbergh's progress from young flyer to world hero, considering his later career without shying away from its unpleasant aspects--notably, his early embrace of Adolf Hitler's regime and his insistence that the United States not take the side of England and France in the impending global war, at considerable cost to his reputation. Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Lindbergh's flight and the centenary of his birth, this book makes a fine gift for aviation and history buffs. --Gregory McNamee… (altro)

From the 1903 Wright Flyer, the first heavier-than-air flying machine to SpaceShipOne, the world’s first privately developed spacecraft, the pages of this book are filled with the wonders of flight on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and its annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Do you wish you could see the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane that took Charles Lindbergh on his solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean? Or, perhaps, John Glenn’s Friendship 7 Mercury capsule? Maybe you’re interested in the Concorde supersonic transport? Or the North American X-15, flown by a cadre of test pilots including Scott Crossfield and Neil Armstrong?

Each full-color layout in this book includes some intriguing facts about the entry: the original design, its specifications, dimensions, use, and mission. In addition, there are stories about the intrepid pilots who flew these aircraft and spacecraft. One hundred historically important, popular, downright awe-inspiring aircraft and spacecraft, all part of the Smithsonian’s magnificent collections, fill the pages of this impossible-to-set-aside book. It’s like having a personal guided tour of the museum . . . the next best thing to actually being there.

Highly recommended.… (altro)