Crouch, Tom D. Wings; a history of aviation from kites to the space age.

CROUCH, Tom D. Wings; a history of aviation from kites to the space age. Norton. 725p. illus. notes. bibliog. index. c2003. 0-393-32620-9. $18.95. SA *

Tom Crouch is the senior curator of aeronautics as the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, and the author of a number of solid popular histories on the subject of aviation. He has the rare gift of explaining flying rather than merely describing it, a trait that serves him well in his museum work. He is completely at home in the aviation community, and hence was the natural choice to produce this survey of the development of modern aviation. It is chock-full of interesting tidbits for the average reader, yet furnishes a more sophisticated perspective for aviation buffs as well.

Readers who pick up this book expecting a more or less basic chronology of aviation progress will be nonplussed. Likewise, those looking forward to simple descriptions of inspiring aircraft, or to a hangar-full of great flying yarns, are going to be disappointed. Overall, Crouch follows a more or less linear storyline from the earliest aeronauts down to the intricate aerospace world of the post-9/11 era, but he employs numerous flashbacks to pick up a new concept and carry it forward. Even the chapters devoted to the war years provide much more than a simple chronology of familiar air battles. This book is popular history only in the broadest sense; there is real meat in it for more advanced interests as well.

Chuck Yeager, for instance, was an unquestioned hero when he drove the X-1 through the "sound barrier" during the world's first supersonic flight in 1947. However, it was far more than a colorful story about the tiny Glamorous Glennis and a dashing young test pilot. It was also about the political and military situations that led to the X-1 project in the first place, the scientific progress that suggested that it was feasible, and the genius of the Bell Aircraft Company engineers who designed the little orange rocket plane. Crouch follows the same approach throughout the book, through all of the technical advances from canvas-covered wings to the sophisticated aviation world of today.

Wings ends by being a sophisticated overview of 100 years of progress, during which the scientific, engineering, and business worlds changed nearly as much as the flying machine itself. It is by no means an exhaustive account, but it is insightful and pleasantly readable. YA readers will be able to cope with it, and perceptive teachers will find it a good approach to the study of modern history. Raymond Puffer, Historian, Edwards AFB, Lancaster, CA

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code help librarian and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.

*--The asterisk highlights exceptional books.