Test Pilots at the Edge

As young men and women tested the limits of manned flight one by one, the first century of America’s Aviation Age unfolded with high drama and excitement—tinged as it was with tragedy and sadness when brave aviators died reaching for the stars. An aerospace revolution—catalyzed by the exploits of the Wright brothers, Samuel Pierpont Langley, Charles Lindbergh, Hap Arnold, Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, Neil Armstrong and hundreds of others—captured the imagination of Americans old and young, rich and poor.
This book explores aviation’s evolutionary process, from biplanes and propeller aircraft through the early decades of jet engines. It also explores the Cold War space race, in which two superpowers waged an ideological, economic and military struggle for global influence. In doing so, it sheds new light on the causes and effects of America’s singular contributions to the golden age of aerospace history.

James E. Dillard is a retired intelligence officer and Lieutenant Colonel with the U.S. Air Force, the CIA, and Defense Intelligence Agency. Now a writer living in Columbia, Maryland, he has an extensive background in university teaching in the fields of history, political science, and international relations.

James E. Dillard
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages:
Bibliographic Info: ca. 40 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9018-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4798-2
Imprint: McFarland