Airplane Stories and Histories

Airplane Stories and Histories ISBN 9781524588274, Xlibris. Copyright and written by Norman Currey.Book Contents/Discussion: The author has set forth an unexpectedly interestingly readable history of airplanes and their development from the very inception. Additionally, he has supplied profoundly interesting history and anecdotes with respect to little known, as well as prominent, individuals associated with their development and with numerous individuals who piloted them. It is written by an original resident of Great Britain who participated in making much of this change come about and placed him in a position to move to other parts of the world to do so. This reviewer is of one of the generations who witnessed much of this transition, but actually had not acquired the deep interest exhibited by others of the era. Rather, his peripherally gained respect for the development was acquired by lengthy participation as a frequent passenger. Thus, witnessing the title, generated enough interest to purchase and surprise when the tale began to unfold blossoming to a fascination as gradual progression in reading the contents revealed the answers to the many questions that had developed through the years.Summary: This is a book that I believe thoroughly will be enjoyed. It does not matter whether you are a passenger, or see a notice about a plane on which you might soon be a passenger, interested in the occasional media announcement with respect to new types of aircraft in today’s headline developing warfare, or perhaps the even less frequent story about former flyers who may or may not still be with us, all are stimulating to read. Currey has provided5* Well researched and recommended reading.Airplane Stories and Histories ISBN 9781524588274, Xlibris. Copyright and written by Norman Currey.Book Contents/Discussion: The author has set forth an unexpectedly interestingly readable history of airplanes and their development from the very inception. Additionally, he has supplied profoundly interesting history and anecdotes with respect to little known, as well as prominent, individuals associated with their development and with numerous individuals who piloted them. It is written by an original resident of Great Britain who participated in making much of this change come about and placed him in a position to move to other parts of the world to do so. This reviewer is of one of the generations who witnessed much of this transition, but actually had not acquired the deep interest exhibited by others of the era. Rather, his peripherally gained respect for the development was acquired by lengthy participation as a frequent passenger. Thus, witnessing the title, generated enough interest to purchase and surprise when the tale began to unfold blossoming to a fascination as gradual progression in reading the contents revealed the answers to the many questions that had developed through the years.Summary: This is a book that I believe thoroughly will be enjoyed. It does not matter whether you are a passenger, or see a notice about a plane on which you might soon be a passenger, interested in the occasional media announcement with respect to new types of aircraft in today’s headline developing warfare, or perhaps the even less frequent story about former flyers who may or may not still be with us, all are stimulating to read. Currey has provided an excellent base for a large variety of readers.5* Well researched and recommended reading.

"Airplane Stories and Histories" by Norman Currey is a fantastic, inside look at the history of air flight as written by one who knows it intimately.Currey starts off with a listing of his credentials, which are vast. It gets the book off to a slow start, but it also sets the tone for the whole book. It is chock-full of facts not written in a sensational way.Following this, Currey takes the reader through a detailed look at the early airflight pioneers. This is definitely a topic of interest to this Ohioan! I also felt a personal connection to the description of planes used in WWII, as my father's cousin died in a plane crash in England while flying in the B-26.Currey's tone is even and neutral until he gets to discussing politicians making funding cuts and decisions regarding the aircraft. Then he gets pretty adamant!I recommend this book to people interested in a close look at the history of airplanes, including the stories of specific heroes in that history.

UK author Norman Currey has a complex history of involvement with aviation. He has studied at the de Havilland Aeronautical Technical School, served as a stress engineer there, as a design engineer at Avro Aircraft in Canada, and worked at Lockheed conducting research and development in the Preliminary Design Department. Norman is a Chartered Engineer (UK) and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He now incorporates that in depth background in publishing this excellent book, AIRPLANE STORIES AND HISTORIES.One of the several reasons this book is fascinating to read is Currey’s depth of knowledge and obvious research into the history of aviation. He supplements his presentation with excellent photographs and drawings that provide an immediacy to his shared information. His initial subject – the true beginning of airplanes – corrects many errors in reportage about he history of the ‘invention ‘ of the airplane: “Sir George Cayley (1773-1857) has been called “The Father of Aerial Navigation,” “Father of Aviation” and “The true inventor of the aeroplane…”. However, he did not make the first flight in an airplane that was powered and able to land on ground that was equal to or more than the height from which it took off – that honor went to the brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903 – 46 years after Cayley died.’ Adding images of the Wright Biplane as well as George Cayley’s Governable Parachute makes Currey’s writing visual!The content surveys all significant historical events of air flight, including fine biographies of the ‘heroes/heroines’ of the industry. For example, he discusses the very timely topic of Boeing’s 747: “The advent of the Boeing 747 bought into focus the debate that is still ongoing. Airliners had been growing over the years, but the 747 seemed to be one huge leap in this regard…’ enhanced by photographs of the 747 and the Concorde in flight.Facts and history of the spectrum of air flight - including projects for the future! – make for entertaining reading as well as a compendium of significant information. Grady Harp, May 22

My engineering mad teen loved this book!

In large part a technical history of aviation, this book had the chance to be quite dull, and the author did a good job of bringing it to life where possible.Most of the writing is, for that matter, more in the manner of a history book than storytelling, per se, so do be sure that’s what you’re looking for—the stories are more in the manner of historical accounts, than novelizations or such.Where Currey excels is putting aviation’s milestones into a historical context, showing how it all fits into the bigger picture of the times at hand. For my part, I appreciated that.Bottom line is: this is a very detailed, well-researched, history of aviation that assumes no prior knowledge. So if that’s what you’re looking for, enjoy!

An interesting book, let down by poor reproduction of pictures.