Smithsonian treasures of the National Air and Space Museum

Tony Reichhardt

Book - 2023

"The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum maintains the world's largest and most significant collection of aviation and space artifacts. This magnificently illustrated keepsake book collects its most iconic objects, from the Apollo 11 spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore as the first man on the Moon to the bright red Lockheed 5B Vega Amelia Earhart flew in two record-breaking flights. Packed with more than 250 captivating photographs that tell a story about dreamers reaching for the sky and the stars, the book offers a curated tour through aviation and space history including: the earliest forms of sustained flight from kits to the Wright brothers, development of World War II aircraft and commercial airliners, Space Age-era b...reakthroughs, recent innovations like SpaceX and military F-35 fighters, pioneers such as Bessie Coleman, Chuck Yeager, Alan Shepard, and Sally Ride"--

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  • Collecting the Past, Inspiring the Future
  • Taking Flight
  • Aviation Goes to War
  • The Shrinking Globe
  • World War II
  • Jet Age Meets Space Age
  • The Moon and Beyond
  • Pushing Boundaries
  • Into the Future
  • Illustration Credits
Review by Library Journal Review

Chock-full of over 250 illustrations, here Nature magazine senior editor Reichhardt and Smithsonian experts delve into human flight chronologically, from early imagining and tethered objects (kites, balloons) to a zero-gravity coffee cup from the International Space Station. Text contextualizes the historical significance of museum artifacts large (a full-scale mock-up of the Hubble space telescope) and small (the stopwatch that timed the Wright brothers' first flights). VERDICT An enjoyable science-based browse for air and space buffs, with occasional whimsy (a tribble from Star Trek, a helmet from the Halo videogame's Master Chief).

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 5 Up--An outstanding nonfiction work focused on air and space, this is a stunning book that children and adults will be drawn to. Organized into chapters featuring the various eras of flight and space exploration, including "Taking Flight," "Aviation Goes to War," and "The Shrinking Globe," this reference work opens with an introduction explaining the history of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Each chapter is introduced with a beautiful piece of artwork depicting the time period and consists of primary documents, photos of exhibits, and artifacts. Spanning from a Chinese Dragon Kite from 1876, to the Wright Military Flyer in 1911, to the Phantom 1 drone in 2012, the information provided is expansive. The contributions of women and BIPOC to air and space exploration are celebrated. The browsable pages are complete with informative and accessible captions; the work can be read chronologically or randomly depending on interest. Because of the lack of index, educators might want to pair this with supplemental works to expand on the information presented. VERDICT A necessary purchase for all nonfiction sections, hand this to air and space enthusiasts, or those drawn to high interest books.--Amy McInerney

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.