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Empire of the Clouds James Hamilton-Paterson

Empire of the Clouds By James Hamilton-Paterson

Empire of the Clouds by James Hamilton-Paterson


$15.49
Condition - Very Good
5 in stock

Summary

How did Britain so lose the plot that today there is not a single aircraft manufacturer of any significance in the country? The author captures that season of glory in a book that fuses his own memories of being a schoolboy plane spotter with a ruefully realistic history of British decline. It is the story of machines and men who flew them.

Empire of the Clouds Summary

Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World by James Hamilton-Paterson

In 1945 Britain was the world's leading designer and builder of aircraft - a world-class achievement that was not mere rhetoric. And what aircraft they were. The sleek Comet, the first jet airliner. The awesome delta-winged Vulcan, an intercontinental bomber that could be thrown about the sky like a fighter. The Hawker Hunter, the most beautiful fighter-jet ever built and the Lightning, which could zoom ten miles above the clouds in a couple of minutes and whose pilots rated flying it as better than sex. How did Britain so lose the plot that today there is not a single aircraft manufacturer of any significance in the country? What became of the great industry of de Havilland or Handley Page? And what was it like to be alive in that marvellous post-war moment when innovative new British aircraft made their debut, and pilots were the rock stars of the age? James Hamilton-Paterson captures that season of glory in a compelling book that fuses his own memories of being a schoolboy plane spotter with a ruefully realistic history of British decline - its loss of self confidence and power. It is the story of great and charismatic machines and the men who flew them: heroes such as Bill Waterton, Neville Duke, John Derry and Bill Beaumont who took inconceivable risks, so that we could fly without a second thought.

About James Hamilton-Paterson

James Hamilton-Paterson is the author of Gerontius, winner of a Whitbread Prize; Seven-Tenths: The Sea and its Thresholds; Playing With Water; and most recently, of the wild comic trilogy Cooking With Fernet Branca, Amazing Disgrace and Rancid Pansies. He is also an unabashed fan of great aircraft.

Additional information

GOR002764150
9780571247950
0571247954
Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World by James Hamilton-Paterson
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Faber & Faber
2011-05-05
416
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Empire of the Clouds