From hot-air balloons and gliders to the Sopwith fighter series and superlight electric-powered craft, this visual history packs every page with detailed illustrations and aviation photographs, along with wingspan measurements, engine specs, and factoids on more than 800 aircraft. Arranged chronologically, illustrations include instrument-dense cockpits, the groovy interior of a 1960s Boeing 747, and the muscular Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Notable aviators, engines, and manufacturers stretch across two-page spreads, while hundreds of aircraft profiles and specs populate the book. VERDICT The eye-catching graphics and tight writing will entrance middle school readers through adults. A must for libraries.