Hoffman, Paul. Wings of madness; Alberto Santos-Dumont and the invention of flight.HOFFMAN, Paul Hoffman, Paul (Gray) (1891–1974) industrialist, government official. Starting as a salesman at Studebaker in 1910, he led that company out of bankruptcy in 1935. . Wings of madness; Alberto Santos-Dumont and the invention of flight. Hyperion. 369p. illus. notes. index, c2003.0-7868-8571-8. $15.95. SA Most enthusiasts of the world of flight can easily recognize the dapper Dapper lawyer’s clerk; swindled into believing himself perfect gambler. [Br. Lit.: The Alchemist] See : Dupery little figure of Alberto Santos-Dumont, the irrepressible Brazilian who gave dash and glamour to the early days of aviation. To them, he is the familiar figure in top hat and tails who bobbed about Paris in his Jules Verne-like personal dirigible dirigible or dirigible balloon: see airship. , the very personification personification, figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstract ideas are endowed with human qualities, e.g., allegorical morality plays where characters include Good Deeds, Beauty, and Death. of the romance and novelty of the dawning Air Age. Those who have missed out on knowing Santos-Dumont have a treat in store. Cultivated, wealthy and eccentric in an appealing way, he enthused about the coming age of aviation at a time when the idea seemed charmingly absurd. He amused the creme of Parisian society during the gay 1890s by hosting "aerial dinners," in which his guests dined from elevated tables "in order to experience what life will be like in a flying machine." In an age when the only air vehicles were ornate Montgolfier hot-air balloons, this conceit seemed merely witty. However, in 1901 Santos-Dumont constructed an oblong balloon pointed at both ends, fitted with a rackety automobile engine, and so has been given credit for inventing the dirigible. He did nothing of the sort, of course--the concept was some 70 years old by then--but he did become the first to make one that really worked. Santos-Dumont then proceeded to build a one-man dirigible and went put-putting from bar to bar along the streets of Paris with perfect elan. The story of how this aviation pioneer paved the way for the Wright brothers' wild success in Europe, his own further advances in aeronautics, and his sad disillusionment Disillusionment Adams, Nick loses innocence through WWI experience. [Am. Lit.: “The Killers”] Angry Young Men disillusioned postwar writers of Britain, such as Osborne and Amis. [Br. Lit. with WW I make a compelling story for YAs on up. S--Recommended for senior high school students. A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians 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. Raymond Puffer puffer, common name for some tropical marine fish of the family Tetraodontidae. The puffers and their allies, the boxfish, the porcupinefish, and the ocean sunfish or headfish, form an odd group (order Tetraodontiformes). , Ph.D., Historian, Edwards AFB AFB abbr. acid-fast bacillus AFB Acid-fast bacillus, also 1. Aflatoxin B 2. Aorto-femoral bypass , Lancaster, CA |
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