| Wings of Madness: Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight Contributor(s): Hoffman, Paul (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0786866594 ISBN-13: 9780786866595 Publisher: Theia OUR PRICE: $29.70 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2003 Annotation: From the author of the acclaimed "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers" comes a book that is at once the biography of an eccentric Brazilian aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont, and the story of the thrilling early days of flight. 16-page photo insert. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Science & Technology - History | Modern - 20th Century - Transportation | Aviation - History |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2002032806 |
| Physical Information: 1.33" H x 6.22" W x 9.3" (1.55 lbs) 380 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 20th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: On the eve of the centennial of the Wright brothers' historic flights at Kitty Hawk, a new generation will learn about the other man who was once hailed worldwide as the conqueror of the air--Alberto Santos-Dumont. Because the Wright brothers worked in secrecy, word of their first flights had not reached Europe when Santos-Dumont took to the skies in 1906. The dashing, impeccably dressed inventor entertained Paris with his airborne antics--barhopping in a little dirigible that he tied to lampposts, circling above crowds around the Eiffel Tower, and crashing into rooftops. A man celebrated, even pursued by the press in Paris, London, and New York, Santos-Dumont dined regularly with the Cartiers, the Rothschilds, and the Roosevelts. But beneath his lively public exterior, Santos-Dumont was a frenzied genius tortured by the weight of his own creation.Wings of Madness chronicles the science and history of early aviation and offers a fascinating glimpse into the mind of an extraordinary and tormented man, vividly depicting the sights and sounds of turn-of-the-century Paris. It is a book that will do for aviation what The Man Who Loved Only Numbers did for mathematics. |