Presented here are six volumes of the twenty-three volume "The Epic of Flight" series by Time-Life Books of Chicago, Illinois and Alexandria, VIrginia. Each book is a First Edition, hardcover, with a blackish-blue leatherette (simulated leather) cover, the text on the front cover and the spine in silver-colored ink, the front cover on each featuring a printed color image pasted in place and framed by an embossed stylized image of emanating rays and clouds, with the embossed image of a propeller above the title text, two were published in 1980, three were published in 1981 and one was published in 1982.
Includes:
1. "The Aeronauts" by Donald Dale Jackson and the Editors of Time-Life Books, published in 1981, ISBN 0-8094-3283-8. This book chronicles the history of ballooning from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries, describing the principles of balloon flight and looking at the uses of balloons for travel, warfare, and recreation. It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by an Introduction entitled "A global profusion of airborne spheres". The book contains five chapters: 1 - "Show us the way to the skies"; 2 - Heyday of the high-flying showmen; 3 - An unlikely recruit for war; 4 - Lifting science toward the edge of space; 5 - The challenge and joy of a precarious sport. It concludes with an Acknowledgments, a Bibliography, Picture Credits, and a four page Index.
2. "The Airline Builders" by Oliver E. Allen and the Editors of Time-Life Books, published in 1981, ISBN 0-8094-3266-8. This book is a history of the air transport industry from the 1920s onwards. It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by an Introduction entitled "Enticing travelers into the skies". The book contains five chapters: 1 - European trailblazers on a cloud-filled frontier; 2 - America's young airlines: saved by the mail; 3 - The forging of the Big Four; 4 - Evolution of the plane that transformed air travel; 5 - The man who shrank the earth. It concludes with an Appendix (The genealogies of the airlines), an Acknowledgments, a Bibliography, Picture Credits, and a three page Index.
3. "America in the Air War" by Edward Jablonski and the Editors of Time-Life Books, published in 1982, ISBN 0-8094-3341-9. This book traces United States aerial operations in the Second World War and recounts the training and combat experiences of the pilots and the flight crews. It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by an Introduction entitled "Wings around the globe". The book contains five chapters: 1 - The fall and rise of U.S. air power; 2 - Target Europe; 3 - Little Friends to the rescue; 4 - Acme of destruction; 5 - "One damned island after another". It concludes with an Acknowledgments, a Bibliography, Picture Credits, and a four page Index.
4. "The Pathfinders" by Davis Nevin and the Editors of Time-Life Books, published in 1980, ISBN 0-8094-3256-0. This book is a history of the records set in aviation, mostly in the latter part of the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries. It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by an Introduction entitled "Daring vanguard of a golden age". The book contains five chapters: 1 - The lure of the mighty Atlantic; 2 - Revving up for Paris; 3 - Tragedy and triumph; 4 - The long reach to Australia; 5 - Globe-girdler from Oklahoma. It concludes with an Appendix (Great flights of the pathfinders), an Acknowledgments, a Bibliography, Picture Credits, and a three page Index.
5. "The Road to Kitty Hawk" by Valerie Moolman and the Editors of Time-Life Books, published in 1980, ISBN 0-8094-3260-9. This book chronicles the stories of those who strove to solve the secrets of flight, covering the would-be birdmen of the Middle Ages, the glider design of Cayley, the failed attempts of Lilienthal, Chanute, and Langley, and the Wright brothers' success. It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by an Introduction entitled "Man's soaring dream". The book contains five chapters: 1 - In search of the "infinite highway"; 2 - The scientific visionaries; 3 - Learning to ride the wind; 4 - The bishop's inventive sons; 5 - Countdown at the Kill Devil Hills. It concludes with an Appendix (Milestones on the road to Kitty Hawk), an Acknowledgments, Picture Credits, a Bibliography, and a four page Index.
6. "Women Aloft" by Valerie Moolman and the Editors of Time-Life Books, published in 1981, ISBN 0-8094-3289-7. This book documents the accomplishments of early women aviators and describes the obstacles they had to overcome to become flyers. It begins with a Table of Contents, followed by an Introduction entitled "Hats off to the ladies". The book contains five chapters: 1 - The first hurdle: proving they were fit to fly; 2 - Challenging a deadly ocean; 3 - Farther, faster, higher!; 4 - The woman who wanted "just one more good flight"; 5 - Women at war. It concludes with an Acknowledgments, a Bibliography, Picture Credits, and a three page Index.
Each book contains 176 pages, printed in four-color inks, on a white paper stock, each with descriptive text, incorporating multiple color images and black and white photographs. The inside front cover and facing endpaper with color artwork images pasted in place, on a gloss white paper stock. Five of the six volumes come with their original "Memo to the Reader" from Series Editor Jim Hicks, the sheet placed in front of the title page. There is an issue with the "America in the Air War" volume, as the adhesive in the binding has dried to the point that the bulk of the pages have come away from the cover, however, they remain glued together as they would have if they were bound to the cover; the other five volumes are unaffected by this issue. All six volumes have foxing present on the top edges of the pages, however, the pages themselves remain clean and pristine, the covers in terrific condition. Ranging from better than very fine to near extremely fine.
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