Publisher's Synopsis
On 17th December 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright soared into history during a 12-second flight on a secluded North Carolina beach. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first flight, these essays seek to chart the central role that aviation played in 20th-century history and capture the spirit of innovation and adventure that has characterized the history of flight.;The contributors, all aerospace historians, consider four broad themes relating to the development of flight technology: innovation and the technology of flight; civil aeronautics and government policy; aerial warfare; and aviation in the American imagination. Through their attention to the political, economic, military and cultural history of flight, the authors establish that the Wrights' invention - and all that followed in both air and space - was one of the most significant technologies of the 20th century, fundamentally reshaping our world. This text is supported by the First Flight Centennial Commission.
