Ideal for daring aviators-to-be! An insider's story follows the early days of flight — and features a splendid model of a biplane inside.

Step back to the 1930s, when an ambitious flying ace vows to claim the prize for the first solo around-the-world fl ight. While readying his aircraft, he offers a richly illustrated look at the exploits of aviation pioneers before him — from the Wright brothers' storied Flyer to Charles Lindbergh's cross-Atlantic flight, from airplane racing and aerial stunts to William Byrd's long-distance record and Amelia Earhart's breaking of the gender barrier. Filled with diagrams, charts, vintage photos, and maps, here is a lavish tribute to the early masters of the sky, who turned fl ights of fancy into real powered aircraft and soared straight into history.