Almost everyone has an aerophile--a lover of aviation--in the family. For thousands of years, the lure of the sky has inspired engineers and madmen and even mythological characters to create contraptions that might allow them to fly. Kites, balloons, airplanes, rockets and satellites all come from the same vision: to soar like a bird, to explore space, to approach the stars and planets.
In the exquisitely designed Milestones of Flight, chock-full of illustrations from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's collection, the major events in the history of aviation are covered in thrilling detail. Robert Goddard's lifelong obsession with finding a way to make space travel feasible started with a dream about ascending to Mars in a spinning aircraft, and ended with him creating the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Ann Baumgartner, inspired by Amelia Earhart's visit to her elementary school class, became the first American woman to fly a jet-powered aircraft. Readers will also learn about the entrepreneurs and engineers who are developing space vehicles to carry tourists into suborbital spaceflight.
Milestones of Flight was written by chief of museum learning Tim Grove (First Flight Around the World) to accompany the Boeing Milestones of Flight exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. A glossary, timeline and chart of the planets with notable flight milestones rounds out this fun compendium, a treat for young aviation buffs. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor