Aviation And The Western imagination : 1920-1950.
In the decades following World War I, when aviation was still a new phenomenon, human flight was an exciting spectacle and a stimulant for the imagination. In 'The Spectacle Of Flight', historian Robert Wohl takes us back to this time, recapturing the achievements of pioneering aviators and exploring flight as a source of cultural inspiration in the Western world.
He begins the story of flight with a fresh account of the impact of Charles Lindbergh's dramatic New York-Paris flight, then goes on to explain how Mussolini identified his Fascist regime with the modernist cachet of aviation. Wohl shows how Hollywood, drawing on the talents of such director-flyers as Howard Hughes, created the aviation film; how writers such as Antoine de Saint-Exupery helped foster France's self-image as the 'winged nation'; and how the world's love affair with flight reached its tragic apotheosis during the bombing campaigns of World War II.
Elegantly written and generously illustrated with rare photographs and art works, this book offers a gripping account of aviation and its influence on modern culture in the years between 1920 and 1950.
