Mastering the sky: a history of aviation from ancient times to the present
- New York: Sarpedon, 1996
- 338p.
First published in 1996, Mastering the Sky received acclaim as one of the best one-volume histories of aviation ever written. Beginning with ancient myths and man's aspiration to soar to the heavens, James Harrison takes us on a kaleidoscopic tour of early history, including tower jumpers, balloonists and barnstormers. After the achievement of the Wright Brothers, the story accelerates, parallel to the development of faster, stronger and more powerful aircraft. By the end of the book, man has flown to the moon and humans reside on space stations for months at a time. The history of aviation is a breathtaking story, told here by a masterful author who, despite his wealth of detail, never fails to convey the human interest, and a sense of pure exhilaration at our ability to conquer challenges.