M. Houston Johnson (Author)
Texas A&M University Press
Edition Details: Book Series: Centennial of flight, No. 21;
Physical Details: 287
Language: English
Although human-powered flight originated in the United States, American aeronautics developed haltingly in the years after the Wright brothers' first ascent in 1903. In those early years, flying almost exclusively served as a form of entertainment, and few observers believed that aviation would ever amount to anything more than a spectacle. But in a span of just twenty years, an explosion of aeronautical development propelled US commercial flying into a position of global leadership. In Taking Flight, historian M. Houston Johnson V explores the emergence of commercial aviation between the world wars to show that the industry's dramatic growth resulted from a unique combination of federal policy, technological innovations, and public interest in air travel. Johnson traces the evolution of commercial flying from the US Army's trial airmail service in the spring of 1918 to the passage of the pivotal Air Commerce Act of 1938. He emphasizes the role of federal policy--particularly as guided by both Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt--to reveal the close working relationship between federal officials and industry leaders as well as an increasing dependence on federal assistance by airline, airframe, and engine manufacturers. Taking Flight highlights the federal government's successful effort to foster a nascent industry in the midst of an economic crisis without resorting to nationalization, a path taken by virtually all European countries during the same era. It also underscores and important point of continuity between Hoover's policies and Roosevelt's New Deal (a sharp departure from many interpretations of Depression-era business history) and shows how both governmental and corporate actors were able to harness Americans' ongoing fascination with flying to further a larger economic agenda and facilitate the creation of the world's largest and most efficient commercial aviation industry. This engaging look at the golden age of flight contributes not only to the history of aviation but also to the larger history of the United States during the Great Depression and the period between the world wars. (Publilsher)
...MoreReview Richard Byers (Autumn 2021) Review of "Taking Flight: the foundations of American commercial aviation, 1918-1938". Business History Review (pp. 587-590).
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