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.

About the Author
Roger D. Launius, chief historian of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C., has written or edited more than twenty books, most recently Imagining Space: Achievements, Predictions, Possibilities, 1950-2050. Dennis R. Jenkins, a consulting engineer in Cape Canaveral, Florida, has written over thirty works on aerospace history, including Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System - The First 100 Flights.


Book Information
ISBN 9780807854884
Author Janet R. Daly Bednarek
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint The University of North Carolina Press
Publisher The University of North Carolina Press
Weight(grams) 468g