{"product_id":"9781780745657","title":"Mayday!: A History of Flight through its Martyrs, Oddballs, and Daredevils","description":"The wonder of flight has long captured the human imagination. In this beguiling history — ranging from the first aircraft to astronauts and beyond — David Darling tells the stories of the true-life adventurers whose wonder has translated into bizarre contraptions, magnificent achievements, and, sometimes, startling folly. Readers will discover outrageous attempts to fly like a bird and fall from the edge of space, as well as meet Napoleonic ballooniste Sophie Blanchard and her daredevil husband, the real “X-Men” who flew the supersonic experimental “X-planes” for the U.S. Air Force, stuntman Lincoln Beachey looping-the-loop in a pinstripe suit, and, of course, The Rocket Man himself: Yves Rossy, who in 2006 was the first person to cross the English Channel using a jet-pack. Eccentric and reckless, Darling’s daring cast of dreamers is guaranteed to entertain and inspire.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Oneworld Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47176613986544,"sku":"9781780745657","price":10.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781780745657_p0.jpg?v=1763716485","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781780745657","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}