Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, this volume of capsule histories and archival images traces the history of flight with all the sepia-toned authority of a public broadcasting documentary. Offering thumbnail profiles of aviation heroes and inventors and a plethora of diagrams and photos, the oversized tome straddles the line between something to put on a coffee table and something to give to a panting, preteen armchair pilot. Sections on space travel, commercial flight and early daredevilry fascinate, but take second stage to the story of flight as it interweaves with a century-long history of war-conflict being the catalyst for much of aviation's greatest innovations and adventures. Most of the book's pages recount bombing raids and dogfights through the decades, but others showcase popular, pioneering or just plain weird designs (the part-plane, part-car Aerocar, the miniscule Sky Louse, the capsule-shaped Gee Bee Super Sportster and the Caproni Ca 60 Transaero, an eight-engine triplane). This hefty volume is a flight museum sandwiched between two covers: careful, informative and educational-and a bit overwhelming.

R.G. Grant has published more than 20 books on social life and military conflict in the 20th century. His works include a biography of Winston Churchill, a history of the Berlin Wall, and a study of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.