M. Houston Johnson (Author)
Texas A&M University Press
Publication date: 2019
Language: English
Edition Details: Book Series: Centennial of flight, No. 21;
Physical Details: 287
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).
Similar Citations
Book
Alan P. Dobson;
(2017)
A history of international civil aviation: from its origins through transformative evolution
(/p/isis/citation/CBB511341992/)
Book
Michael Century;
(2022)
Northern sparks : Innovation, technology policy, and the arts in Canada from Expo 67 to the Internet age
(/p/isis/citation/CBB876203673/)
Book
Handley Stevens;
(2018)
The life and death of a treaty : Bermuda 2
(/p/isis/citation/CBB233116489/)
Article
Schwarz, Frederic;
(Spring 2007)
Sometimes a Dumb Notion
(/p/isis/citation/CBB799146306/)
Book
Diego Aguiar;
Quiroga, Juan Martín,;
Manuel Lugones;
Francisco Aristimuño;
(2018)
Políticas de ciencia, tecnología e innovación en la Argentina de la posdictadura
(/p/isis/citation/CBB706094630/)
Book
Margo T. Oge;
(2015)
Driving the Future: Combating Climate Change with Cleaner, Smarter Cars
(/p/isis/citation/CBB905423062/)
Book
Lipsey, Richard G;
Carlaw, Kenneth;
Bekar, Clifford;
(2005)
Economic transformations: General purpose technologies and long-term economic growth
(/p/isis/citation/CBB001180076/)
Article
Carolina Castellitti;
(2019)
Varig, “a Real Brazilian Embassy Outside”: Anthropological reflections on aviation and national imaginaries
(/p/isis/citation/CBB733642746/)
Book
Malin, Stephanie A.;
(2015)
The price of nuclear power: uranium communities and environmental justice
(/p/isis/citation/CBB674066950/)
Article
Blair, Peter;
(Fall 1997)
The Evolving Role of Government in Science and Technology
(/p/isis/citation/CBB385269803/)
Article
Abby Spinak;
(January 2020)
"Not Quite So Freely as Air": Electrical Statecraft in North America
(/p/isis/citation/CBB081992401/)
Book
John L. Neufeld;
(2016)
Selling Power: Economics, Policy, and Electric Utilities Before 1940
(/p/isis/citation/CBB220506803/)
Book
Arthur P. Molella;
Anna Karvellas;
(2015)
Places of invention: A companion to the exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
(/p/isis/citation/CBB071860399/)
Article
Branscomb, Lewis M.;
(Summer 1997)
Science Policy v. Technology Policy: Resolving the Ideological Confusion
(/p/isis/citation/CBB026838005/)
Article
Ahearne, John F.;
(Fall 2001)
The Future of Nuclear Energy (editorial)
(/p/isis/citation/CBB163106079/)
Article
Rubenstone, James;
(Summer 2012)
Emerging Regulatory Challenges in the Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste
(/p/isis/citation/CBB818720626/)
Article
Fertel, Marvin S.;
(Summer 2012)
Industry's Safety Record and the Blue Ribbon Recommendations: The Way Ahead for the Management of Used Nuclear Fuel
(/p/isis/citation/CBB638837860/)
Article
Chu, Margaret S. Y.;
Dyer, Russell;
(Fall 2003)
Licensing, Design, and Construction of the Yucca Mountain Repository
(/p/isis/citation/CBB171569538/)
Article
Marcus, Gail H.;
(Fall 2001)
Technology, Safety, Human Resources, and Nuclear Power
(/p/isis/citation/CBB400599084/)
Article
Peterson, Per F.;
(Fall 2003)
Will the United States Need a Second Geologic Repository?
(/p/isis/citation/CBB342577243/)
Be the first to comment!