Flight before Flying by Wragg. David W.,

Hard back book with colour pictorial dust jacket, 191 pages, 8 chapters illustrated with B/W plates, chronological list of events and index.

Flight before Flying is mainly concerned with the 120 years from 1783 to 1903, from first balloon flights to first aeroplane flights. In between are the experiments with gliders and airships, with the early internal combustion engine and with other forms of power, as well as the work on kites, rockets and parachutes which paved the way for the technology of today. But, in order to put the main story into perspective, the book also includes a chapter on the 'pre-flight' years before 1783 and ends with a brief look at the subsequent development of the aeroplane and the airship.

David Wragg's account, illustrated with over 150 contemporary illustrations, is humorous and diverting enough. It also manages to be a work of considerable historic and technological interest and a stirring story of courageous endeavour.