Race through the Skies: The Week the World Learned to Fly

by Martin W. Sandler

Overview

From National Book Award winner Martin W. Sandler, a fascinating look at the week that brought aviation fever to the world

In 1903, the Wright brothers made three brief flights, and no one was there to watch them. Six years later, Wilbur Wright traveled to Europe to evangelicize about aviation and raise money for patents—and the world got aviation fever. That summer, a group of champagne companies organized the first ever international air meet in Rheims, France. They knew they could throw a great party and sell a lot of champagne. They didn't know that this single week would change the course of aviation history. Through remarkable photographs, firsthand accounts, and lively narrative, Marty Sandler tells the story of how the Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne marked the public introduction to flight.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547603442
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	07/28/2020
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Martin W. Sandler is the National Book Award-winning author of 1919 The Year That Changed Anerica, Imprisoned, Lincoln Through the Lens, The Dust Bowl Through the Lens, and Kennedy Through the Lens. He has won five Emmy Awards for his writing for television and is the author of more than sixty books, two of which have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and four of which were YALSA-Nonfiction Award finalists. Sandler has taught American history and American studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and at Smith College, and lives in Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

07/27/2020

The latest nonfiction offering from National Book Award winner Sandler (1919 The Year That Changed America) invites readers to the Champagne Region’s Great Aviation Week, held outside Rheims, France, in August 1909. Introducing elements of aviation before the meet, and the role of the Wright Brothers in its early days, Sandler continues by describing the preparations and then each of the seven days of the event. Abundant historical photos introduce the pilots, their planes, and the elaborate facilities, which were comparable to those of a world’s fair. Sophisticated text and French terminology, some of which is untranslated, may make this a challenging read. But the firsthand accounts—including descriptions of competing aviators, their planes, and their performances, as well as the media reaction—will enthrall young aviation enthusiasts, introducing them to aspects of aviation history beyond Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. Two-page sections highlight individual fliers, prizes, and other interesting topics such as dirigibles. Back matter includes synopses of the competing pilots’ lives, along with suggestions for further reading, places to visit, and a bibliography, making this a useful classroom and library resource. Ages 10–14. (July)

Publishers Weekly

The races are presented in thrilling detail and clearly placed in the context of the history of early aviation….Fascinating, eminently entertaining.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Sandler's prose is vigorous, impassioned, and carefully contextualized. . . . A fascinating story, augmented by numerous attractive archival images. An entertaining and instructive look at a tumultuous year.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Well researched and presented in an attractive manner, Sandler's text delivers a solid look at a pivotal year.” —School Library Journal

“Sandler's narrative skill and eye for detail, and the abundant archival photos throughout, make for an engrossing resource.” —Publishers Weekly

“As welcome as some of 1919's beginnings might have been…many of the archival photos in “1919” capture a sense of turmoil…Sandler, a prolific historian for young readers, includes timelines that run through the present day in an effort to put the events of 1919 in historical context.” —Wall Street Journal

“Sandler emphasizes the impact of this monumental week on the future of aviation…[a] fascinating history.” —Booklist

“Impressive and highly readable look at an important inflection point in history.” —Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

06/01/2020

Gr 6–10—Sandler's historical overview of aviation focuses on a weeklong air show in the fall of 1908 in Reims, France. The events featured thrilling contests for speed and distance and hosted many of the prominent aviators and aircraft builders of the day, including fierce competition between the American flight pioneer Glenn Curtiss and Frenchman Louis Blériot, the first person to fly across the English Channel. A common theme throughout is the extreme risk for early pilots, such as Peruvian aviator Jorge Chávez, the first person to fly across the Alps, who crashed on descent and died from his injuries. Numerous supplemental texts highlight tangential topics (the design differences between biplanes and single-wing aircraft, the evolution of dirigibles during the same time, and "Women in the Air," spotlighting pilots such as Bessie Coleman, the first Black and Native American woman to earn her pilot's license). Copious period photos are integrated cleanly with the text and design. Additional illustrations include newspaper pages and promotional posters. Back matter contains a list of related books, websites, and places to visit, such as the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY. No source notes are included, but a bibliography and an annotated list of significant sources are included. VERDICT The topic doesn't fall easily into categories and might require hand selling, but this captivating nonfiction read will appeal to anyone interested in the history of flight, inventions, or thrill sports.—Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson M.S., Falls Church, VA

School Library Journal

2020-04-12
Oh, “those magnificent men in their flying machines”!

National Book Award winner Sandler explores one brief but momentous week in the early history of aviation. Only about six years after the Wright brothers achieved their first 57-second flight, pilots from around the world gathered in Rheims, France, in August 1909 for the Champagne Region’s Great Aviation Week (Grande Semaine d’Aviation de la Champagne). It was the first international air meet. Although the Wrights chose not to participate, the U.S. was well represented by Glenn Curtiss, whose limited experience matched that of other so-called veteran pilots of the era. They would all compete in their remarkably flimsy wood-and-fabric machines for a variety of large cash prizes, in the process captivating immense crowds and advancing aviation technology. The races are presented in thrilling detail and clearly placed in the context of the history of early aviation. A large collection of outstanding period photographs extends the tale. Unfortunately, in the midst of excellence, numerous additional topics, all about two pages long, are wedged in, nearly always interrupting the narrative midsentence—an annoying design flaw in this otherwise fine work. A final section provides a “postscript” of the lives, some sadly brief, of the aviators, mostly white and European, who participated at Rheims.

Fascinating, eminently entertaining, and sometimes frustrating. (further reading, websites, museums, sources, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews