Airliners

256 pp. Illustrated with 350 photographs, many in colour. Among them are many items of historic interest, including posters, baggage tags, tickets and menus. ...details the meteoric rise of the airliner--from its humble beginnings on a beach in North Carolina, through the first passenger services, the stately airships, the long-range mail routes, the great pre-war flying boats and the post-war aviation boom to the wide-bodied jets and the latest supersonic swing-wing designs. He also covers the development of the airport, from grass fields to the huge complexes of today, the black boxes, air crashes, the first air hostesses and airline catering.--jaket