Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster.
Published by Oneworld Publications
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
LIST PRICE $18.00
PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER
Free shipping when you spend $40. Terms apply.
Buy from Other Retailers
Table of Contents
About The Book
The wonder of flight has long captured the human imagination. In this beguiling history – ranging from the first aircraft to astronauts and beyond – David Darling tells the stories of the true life adventurers whose wonder has translated into bizarre contraptions, magnificent achievements and, sometimes, startling folly.
Discover outrageous attempts to fly like a bird and fall from the edge of space. Meet Napoleonic ballooniste Sophie Blanchard and her daredevil husband; the real “X-Men” who flew the supersonic experimental “X-planes” for the US Air Force; stuntman Lincoln Beachey, looping-the-loop in a pinstripe suit; and, of course, The Rocket Man himself: Yves Rossy, who in 2006 was the first person to cross the English Channel using a jet-pack.
Eccentric and reckless, Darling’s daring cast of dreamers is guaranteed to entertain and inspire.
Discover outrageous attempts to fly like a bird and fall from the edge of space. Meet Napoleonic ballooniste Sophie Blanchard and her daredevil husband; the real “X-Men” who flew the supersonic experimental “X-planes” for the US Air Force; stuntman Lincoln Beachey, looping-the-loop in a pinstripe suit; and, of course, The Rocket Man himself: Yves Rossy, who in 2006 was the first person to cross the English Channel using a jet-pack.
Eccentric and reckless, Darling’s daring cast of dreamers is guaranteed to entertain and inspire.
Product Details
- Publisher: Oneworld Publications (November 1, 2013)
- Length: 216 pages
- ISBN13: 9781780742977
Browse Related Books
Raves and Reviews
“A consummate collection of tales of the fearless and the feckless. Darling treats his subject with an authority tempered by the gentle humour that is the mark of a great story-teller.”
– Justin Pollard, author of The Interesting Bits: The History You Might Have Missed
‘David Darling has cleverly avoided wheeling out all the old familiar names… a rollicking, rip-roaring tale. 4 stars.’
– Popular Science
“Gripping… dazzling tales of madness and derring do.”
– Brian Clegg, author of Inflight Science
“A hugely enjoyable roller-coaster aerial ride in the company of oddballs and heroes, complete with vertiginous frights, dances of death, lonely impulses of delight and acts of mindless masochism in the name of science.”
– Jonathan Glancey, author of Spitfire: The Biography
"Gripping... dazzling tales of madness and derring-do."
– Brian Clegg, author of Inflight Science
"A hugely enjoyable roller-coaster aerial ride in the company of oddballs and heroes, complete with acts of mindless msochism in the name of science."
– Jonathan Clancy, author of Spitfire: The Biography
“Impressive.”
– Wall Street Journal
“A mix of good old-fashioned silliness and some fine science writing.”
– BBC Focus
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Rocket Man Hardcover 9781780742977
