Testing Aircraft, Exploring Space ― An Illustrated History of Naca and Nasa

Bilstein (emeritus, history, U. of Houston, Clear Lake) has written a detailed history of the development and testing of aircraft by the National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics (NACA) and NASA, as NACA was later known, that will be enjoyed by specialists and the popular enthusiast of aviation history. The goals, tests, setbacks, and successes of NACA and NASA projects are described from NACA's early inception in 1915, through the interwar period, WWII, the Cold War, the focus on space travel of the 1960s, the increasing number of international ventures of the 1970s and 1980s, the development of the space shuttle, the impact of the Challenger disaster, and current projects. Many b&w photos are included. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Roger E. Bilstein is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Houston, Clear Lake. He is the author of Flight Patterns: Trends of Aeronautical Development in the United States, 1918-1929; Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles; and Flight in America: From the Wrights to the Astronauts, the last available from Johns Hopkins.