Flying Machine ANNOTATION
A photo essay tracing the history and development of aircraft from hot-air balloons to jetliners. Includes information on the principles of flight and the inner workings of various flying machines.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
New Look! Relaunched with new jackets and 8 pages of new text!
Here is a spectacular and informative guide to the fascinating world of aircraft. Superb color photographs offer a unique "eyewitness" exploration of the history of flight, as well as provide a close-up view of the many different kinds of aircraft in use today, from helicopters to hot-air balloons. See a Victorian steam-powered airplane, a World War I biplane, a jetliner in cross section, what the first pilots wore, how wings provide lift, and what's inside a "black box." Learn how a jet engine works, why early wings needed "doping", how to keep an airplane flying straight and level, and why modern airliners need pressurized cabins. Discover how wooden planes are constructed, what it was like to fly a biplane, how a plane lands and takes off, how a glider works, which plane could be carried on a car, how a helicopter flies, and much, much more.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Susie Wilde
The well-known "Eyewitness" series provides nonfiction volumes centered on one subject. Each has spectacular photography and accurate, authentic information. To please the younger reader Knopf began the Eyewitness Juniors recommended for ages six to ten, but they are accessible to children slightly younger. Flying Machine is one title in the series.
School Library Journal
Gr 4 Up-- The unique, now familiar, series format puts the development of two familiar and popular technologies in center stage. Strikingly clear images leap from a white background; numerous captions and brief text encourage browsing over methodical exploration. The whole effect is made orderly by careful layout and unobtrusive black outlines around each spread. And each book's comprehensive index allows use as reference. Flying Machine highlights early balloons and birdlike aircraft and then follows the development of powered flight into contemporary times. Highly detailed, crisp photographs are a delight. Car has no true equal in its dynamic presentation and technical detail, and will truly entertain and inform anyone interested in automobiles. The Smithsonian Book of Flight for Young People (Aladdin, 1988) by Walter J. Boyne covers much the same ground, but with more text and fewer, slightly less eye-catching illustrations. Graeme Cook's Weird and Wonderful Aircraft (Enterprise, 1975; o.p.) is a lively supplement to the basics in Flying Machine. Both it and Car have a slightly British bias in models displayed, with significant European contributions acknowledged. American developments are given proper attention, but do not dominate the works. A wealth of fascinating pictures and facts to draw in any browser. --Ann G. Brouse, Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, NY
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