Author: E. Seton Valentine

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-21

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 9781331932536

Excerpt from Travels in Space: A History of Aerial Navigation There have been numerous books and treatises on Aerostation, Aeronautics, Aviation and even Aerodromics, but it is the lack of a single one which would present to the ordinary reader, as well as to him technically interested in the subject, a brief but adequate narrative of all the achievements and inventions in this fascinating department of modern science, as well as of the aeronauts and inventors who have thereby distinguished themselves, which has led to the preparation of this volume. It may perhaps be held that a fitter title for the work would be Aerial Locomotion, in that it is largely concerned with a multitude of haphazard journeys into space whose destination no man could foresee. On the other hand, the authors may urge that an even greater portion of the book is taken up with accounts of the steady - and often brilliant - efforts of mankind towards a single goal, so that in recounting the hundred and one attempts, in which are involved courage, ingenuit and perseverance, much sacrifice of human life, with not a little humour and pathos added, we have before us in these pages the almost complete drama, as far as it has progressed, of Aerial Navigation. The illustrations, which form a prominent feature, covering a wide stretch of time, from the devices of Leonardo da Vinci to those of Professor Langley and M. Santos-Dumont, tell one part of this story clearly, and almost of themselves render the letterpress superfluous. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.