Product Description

Experience the thrill of flying some of the world's most important airplanes and spacecraft. Best Of The National Air And Space Museum provides unprecedented access to the most popular museum in the world.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum hosts more than 9 million visitors a year, and the newly opened Dulles Center –three football fields long and ten stories high – is a phenomenon in its own right: in the first week it was opened, some 250,000 people came through the doors.

Best Of The National Air And Space Museum features the best of both museums, from the Challenger space shuttle and the Wright flyer to the Spirit of St. Louis and the stealth bomber. Bob Van der Linden, curator of aeronautics, has selected the most historically important, popular, and just plain impressive aircraft and spacecraft from the collections of both museums to be captured in the book's beautiful full color layouts. Each layout includes intriguing facts of the item's design, use, mission, specifications, and dimensions. It's like your own guided tour!

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Guide to the National Air & Space Museum
I recently visited the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. It was the first time I'd been there since they moved into their current facility in the mid-1970's. It was breathtaking. The best way to describe the effect of walking in the main entrance is to envision the bedroom of a boy who hangs model airplanes from the ceiling. Only at the NASM, the "models" hanging from the ceiling are full-size. I was a model-building boy in the 1950's, and my favorites were planes I'd built from kits. Unfortunately, the museum was undergoing some of its regular updating and a few of my favorite planes weren't on view, such as the F89 Super Saber. Fortunately, that plane and most (if not all) the permanent collection are profiled in the Best of the National Air and Space Museum. If at all possible, visit the museum. If you can't get there, buy the book. Actually, buy the book in either case. You won't be disappointed.

Nat'l Air & Space Museum review
Great photograghs with well written copy. This book makes me want to go to this museum and see first hand the items displayed. Highly recommend!!!

Great photo essay, history of aviation and space
i'm an engineer- worked rocket motors, and various satellite programs.this book was recommended by associate after visiting the museum at Langley.The pics are super, with short descriptions, and moderate on the tech.It's an amazing pulse of this wild history, and mostly is from America's lineage.St. Louis, Mercury, Atlas, and up to current Shuttle.There's also the SST, and unique turn of the century early birds.A fine read to be shared with a youngster (my son 10, digs it), or for the historyor engineering buff.amazon has it cheaper than at the museum. ... Read more

Product Description
The goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth required the development of three things: spacecraft, launch vehicles, and protective clothing. Spacesuits: Within the Collections of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum takes the reader through the development of the last category, the spacesuits used during this venture. Highlighting the pressure suits created during the years leading up to the lunar missions and beyond, this book features dramatic photographs of the Smithsonian’s collection, as well as never-before-published historical images of spacesuit development and testing—range-of-motion studies, for example, in which researchers wore spacesuits while playing baseball and football. The book also includes a group of advanced spacesuits, which, though never used on a mission, are in many respects the most exciting suits ever created. One suit glove has steel fingernails and sharkskin pads, in an attempt to harness the abilities of the human hand.

Spacesuits are surprisingly fragile; they are made for a short lifespan in the most extreme of conditions, and long-term survival is not part of their design process. The final chapter touches briefly on the current conditions of historic suits, how they have held up over time, the reasons for their deterioration, and the rewards and difficulties associated with caring for and preserving these very complex and iconic artifacts. From the first spacesuit designs of the 1930s through those worn on the landmark Apollo-Soyuz program of 1975, Spacesuits provides a behind-the-scenes look at the history of these remarkable creations, including some that have never before been publicly displayed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Spacesuits: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
What a wonderful book. Even though I worked on a stage as an engineer, I knew nothing about the space suits.
During Apollo, most of us who worked on various components, never knew about our fellow workers or where they were. As it turned out, there were 400,000 of us and we were spread out all over the country.

I heard some rumors about the space suits but really knew nothing until this book was published. It has so much information and belongs in our National Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian. The folks that designed and made the suits for Apollo and programs before were a marvel. No astronaut who wore these suits ever lost their life. That is an amazing achievement. This is a very historical book and I highly recommend it.

Sara Howard, Author of Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Moon and
The Biggest Explosions in the Universe

Well illustrated and enjoyable book
My review will be short. I'm not an amateur space historian, nor have I read any other books about spacesuits and their design, so I can't compare this book to any others. I just thought it looked neat, and I was right. There are tons of pictures, and easy to follow text that's smartly written. The book also struck me as being very comprehensive, with all the different revisions of spacesuits over the years shown, without bogging you down with too much minutia.

Spacesuits Review
This is a superb compilation of picturesfrom departure of space age to shuttle space suits ; a complete explanation of developments and protoypeswith adaption and evolutions.
A "clever" hanbook with x-ray view of spacesuits and details , a good way to understandand appreciate the difficulty of outer space work.
Highly recommanded and a "must have" for thoose how want to unterstand space conquest.

Have suit will travel
"Spacesuits" easily ranks in the top five most interesting and illuminating "space" books that I have read in several decades. And the pictures are equally fascinating too!

A while back I had read that John Glenn's Mercury spacesuit had shrunk and is now very fragile. This didn't sound right. After all, common sense suggests that if these things are designed and built to withstand the rigors of outer space, they should last forever. Right?

Wrong!

Museum Specialist Amanda Young starts off this saga by providing nicely detailed, but not burdensome, descriptions of the various spacesuit types and different models thereof in the Smithsonian's Collection. If you believe that you know all there is to know about U.S. spacesuits (like I did), you're in for one very big surprise. There are so many variations, not just of the suits themselves, but of the helmets and gloves as well, that it's a wonder anyone could keep track of them. A detailed listing of the suits in the collection appears at the end of the book. It is about 10 pages long and the font size is not large.

But where this book and Ms. Young really shine is when she discusses the problems of preserving and displaying these priceless national treasures. Her prose is clear, concise, and devoid of the baggage one usually sees when the writer is attempting to impress the reader. It doesn't take long to realize that the author is someone for whom these suits are not abstract objects. One can easily tell that Young has touched, examined, probed, and hefted spacesuits all the way from Alan Shepard's Mercury suit to Tom Stafford's Apollo-Soyuz suit.

The deterioration of some of these suits is both devastating and disturbing. A picture on page 132 illustrates damage caused by an unnamed museum after they punched a metal rod through the boot of a spacesuit in order to put it on display! A comment about the pictures in this book, most are stunning. The crisp details and colors captured by Mark Avino are nothing short of breathtaking and his radiograph images that show the "insides" of the suits and gloves are surreal. Kudos to the publisher too, this book offers the most vivid, most colorful reproductions that I have seen since Joseph P. Allen's "Entering Space."

The one fault that this book exhibits, besides its oddball 6-3/4 by 12 inch size, is that the section on conservation, storage and display of these priceless artifacts is maddeningly short, only six pages. My curiosity screamed for more, more, more.

After reading this book, one can only be grateful that it was Amanda Young who picked up this "ball" and made preserving our country's spacesuits her passion.

Thought you knew about space suits? Read this!
I bought this book at the gift shop of the Air & Space Museum in DC. Thumbing through it, I couldn't put it down. After going through the book much later, I feel I still made a good call buying it. I'm well read on historic military aviation flight gear and thought I knew a passing amount about space suits. Oh, how wrong I was. This book made it clear how little the public really understands about the garments that carried men to the Moon. One example is a mention of the helmets on the Apollo suits. I had no idea that the helmets you see in the photos from the Moon are, in fact, covers with visors that went over the real pressure helmets and were all left on the Moon.
I found the construction details fascinating. I never would have guessed that modern synthetics were used so much in the production of these suits, as well as the short lifespan intended. I was shocked to read how badly many of them have weathered the years since their use. The author does an admirable job explaining the fragile nature of these older suits and the problems with their preservation. The reader is left saddened at photographs of some components now completely dissolved and poorly preserved suits now permanently "flat" from lying on shelves for years. The book also has keen insight from Apollo 10 astronaut Tom Stafford, putting balance to what might have been dismissed as a simple artifact analysis.
The only issues I would take up with the book would be there was little on how the suits were to wear. The author described some suits as "comfortable," which I doubt would be agreed with by the men who wore them. The timeframes involved also kept the author from going further into the details of the suits themselves. Going from the 1930s to the end of the Apollo era, the author has no chance to really delve into these suits. While I understand the side focus on experimental suits, I would think that most of the readers would rather focus on the production suits and their use. I was very disappointed that later spacesuits (especially the Space Shuttle flight and EVA suits) were not addressed at all. Perhaps NASA has yet to give the Smithsonian any of these newer suits to be able to address them, which would explain their absence from the book. Hopefully someday a book covering later suits will come out with this quality. In the end, I was left with an even greater appreciation of the priceless space suits I had seen at the Air & Space Museum on several occasions previously. Not only for their historical nature, I now better understand their construction, use and how fortunate we are that they were turned over for preservation to these fine people.
While this book doesn't dissect each suit individually, it is an amazing overall study of space suits in what surely must be the most impressive achievement in human history. Their story deserved to be told and Amanda Young did an admirable job in this work.
... Read more

Product Description
This fully illustrated guide to the world's most-visited aviation and space museum is both an indispensable companion for visitors and a detailed history in itself of humanity's quest for flight. The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum maintains the world's largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft plus an amazing assortment of other historic objects. Many fascinating items from the twenty-three galleries and two off-site facilities—including the Wright Flyer, Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1, and the spacesuits worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin—are presented here in 200 full-color photographs, accompanied by their equally intriguing stories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Updated Guide to Our Nation's Finest Air Museum!
Author David Romanowski and Smithsonian Books offer up this 3rd edition of the OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. Published in 2009, it offers a colorful, entertaining and informative guide to the jewel that is NASM.

Since 1976, over a quarter billion men, women and children have toured NASM. Hundreds of airplanes, space vehicles and artifacts are imaginatively displayed at NASM and the Udvar-Hazy Center, chronicling flight in America. Though I've never been to the latter facility, I did tour NASM recently and it's a wonderful treat whether you're an airplane nut or not.

After a brief preface by current director John Dailey, Romanowski traces the history of NASM from its beginnings in the late 1800s to the present. He then takes a look at the Milestones of Flight Gallery and the various aviation and space galleries. The informative text is highlighted by dozens of gorgeous color photographs. The in-your-face close-ups are absoluely superb. Brown also details the Planetarium, IMAX Theater, Udvar-Hazy Center, etc. I wish Brown had included an index but that's just me.

If you're planning a vacation to our nation's capital, save time for NASM. As revealed in Brown's book, it's a world-class museum with aviation/space wonders galore. And let OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM be your guide. Recommended.
... Read more

Product Description
Three hundred spectacular views of Earth taken by the latest generation of satellites.

For orbiting satellites, no place on Earth is isolated. The Himalayas are as easy to photograph as Manhattan. While satellite images are important for science and technical needs, they can also be appreciated for their astonishing beauty.

Earth From Space shows how satellite imaging - also called remote sensing - works and showcases some of the most extraordinary photographs ever published.

In the mid-1990s a new generation of satellites began to orbit the Earth. More powerful and accurate than ever, they can record the effects of human and natural forces, and how the planet is changing through time can be clearly seen.

The book also dispels popular misconceptions like those used in Hollywood movies for dramatic effect such as exaggerated surveillance capabilities of orbiting satellites. However, what the satellites do see is nothing short of spectacular.

Earth From Space presents stunning color photographs of:- Coastal ports and major world cities- Military installations such as the Russian Pacific submarine fleet- Rebuilding lower Manhattan and the Pentagon after 9/11- Landscapes of wars including Iraq and Iran- Rain forests, wetlands, coral reefs, rivers and mountains- Effects of deforestation and desertification

Earth From Space covers subjects ranging from aeronautics to history to ecology with unforgettable illustrations - an expansive big picture view of the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Thisbookcould be useful as well as being "an eye catcher"
This should be a delight to look at as well as useful for all age groups as well as useful to geologists like myself and of course geographers.

Coffee table book -- for students
If you want a colorful, generalized book about the types of things remote sensing satellites can 'see' and 'detect' this is a book for you. The aerial photography is stunning and the commentary about the photos is well done, although too short and lacking in detail.

As there is little 'depth', this is not a book for the academic-minded. It's niche seems to be as a 'coffee table' book, but unfortunately my copy came paperbound (instead of hardcover) so it makes a rather 'floppy' coffee-table package.

I would have given 4-stars if the book were hardbound (even if it cost $4 more that way) but, as-is, I'd recommend the paperback edition only for the most budget-minded. However the price is very low and the color reproduction is excellent.

Earth From Space: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The condition of the book is good.
It took about 10 days to delivery the book from US to Hong Kong. The delivery is quick.

The view from above
This collection of color satellite images is fascinating and awe inspiring. Dramatic images show weather phenomena like active hurricanes, forest fires and tornado paths. Rivers, oceans, lakes and deserts illustrate the varieties of our planet and other images show how man-made constructions have altered the earth. Especially distressing are images that show the effects of deforestation and oil spills. Cities like Paris and New York are featured as well as famous structures like the pyramids, Statue of Liberty, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in New Orleans and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. City views alone would make a fascinating book - this volume shows aerial views of Paris, New York, Venice, San Francisco, San Diego, Pittsburg, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. One of the most memorable images is a photo of Earth taken at night showing city lights.

really nice visuals
Lots of computer graphic enhanced pics, Not alot of text, But it does have lots of pics of the natural world and human impact.A must for a geography lovers library. ... Read more

Product Description
Designed to convey the awe of a visitor first walking into the world's largest showplace of aviation history, this Autobiography headlines the incredible collections, both on view and behind the scenes, of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The official story and insiders' tales of the museum are shared by its curators, the people who know it best. Spectacular photography and fascinating backstage glimpses show off the jaw-dropping collection, including well-known and beloved artifacts like Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis and the Apollo 11 command module, as well as rare treasures not displayed to the public. For aircraft and spaceflight enthusiasts, for readers interested in science and technology, and for all who admire the civil and military legacy of aviation, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography will be a welcome adventure.Amazon.com Review

From Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography
Click on the images or captions below to open larger versions.

This photograph, perhaps the most famous in aviation history, was taken at about 10:35 on the morning of December 17, 1903. It shows the world’s first airplane taking off for the first time. Orville Wright is piloting the machine, while Wilbur runs along beside. (Smithsonian Institute, p. 101)	U.S. Air Mail pilot William C. “Wild Bill” Hopson strikes a cocky pose before a flight from Omaha to Chicago in 1921. Hopson earned a reputation for disobeying Post Office flight regulations. (Smithsonian Institute, p. 117)	The Aquabelles from the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and Army Air Corps officers pose on the wing of Boeing’s experimental XB-15 bomber. (Smithsonian Institute, p. 157)	Robert Goddard shows off one of his A-series rockets in front of his workshop in Roswell, New Mexico, in the mid-1930s. He gave the Smithsonian a rocket almost identical to this one in 1935. (Smithsonian Institute, p. 174)

Three U.S. military rockets stand on display before the Smithsonian Institution’s Arts and Industries Building, circa 1960. In those days, the area outside the museum building became known as Rocket Row. (National Air and Space Museum, p. 198)	The Rutan SpaceShipOne is in the museum’s collection. (Dane A. Penland, p. 266)	Not designed to be disassembled, the B-29 Enola Gay posed interesting problems during restoration, which took more than 300,000 man-hours. (National Air and Space Museum Collections Management, p. 362)	Nearly a decade after its opening, almost 200 aircraft can be viewed each day at the Boeing Hangar. (National Air and Space Museum Collections Management, p. 368)

Product Description
Museums and the Public Sphere investigates the role of museums around the world as sites of democratic public space.

• Explores the role of museums around the world as sites of public discourse and democracy
• Examines the changing idea of the museum in relation to other public sites and spaces, including community cultural centers, public halls and the internet
• Offers a sophisticated portrait of the public, and how it is realized, invoked, and understood in the museum context
• Offers relevant case studies and discussions of how museums can engage with their publics' in more complex, productive ways

Product Description
William Hartnell is the original Doctor in this soundtrack of a classic TV adventure, with linking narration by Maureen O'Brien. When the Doctor and his companions Ian, Barbara and Vicki enter a museum on the planet Xeros, they are astonished to find themselves displayed as exhibits! The TARDIS has jumped a 'time track' and offered them a glimpse of what the future could hold...The native Xerons are planning a rebellion against the occupying force of the Moroks who have invaded their world. The Doctor and his friends struggle not only to survive in the midst of battle, but to help change the future sufficiently to ensure their own freedom. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Well done, Mr. Jones
Ok, first, we must ignore the cover art...

Originally an "adaquate" episode on TV (although you do get to see Boba Fett before the mask ).Mr. Jones adds creative characterization that is missing in the original.I compliment his taking of minor situations and characters and improving upon them.He even adds scenes that lighten the story.
This is one of the Dr. Who novelizations that is far better than the original film.

Starts well then falls very flat
Based on (arguably) the blandest Doctor Who serial ever made, this novelisation starts off with a huge hurdle to leap before it can even hope to be worth reading.

Like the serial it is based on, it starts off interestingly enough: the TARDIS arrives on the planet Xeros, which appears to be lifeless.The most notable feature is the huge museum (from which the story derives its name).A significant chunk of the book is taken up by the exploration of the museum, culminating in the discovery that they have "jumped a time track" and are seeing their future, which includes themselves on display as exhibits in the museum.Then time rectifies itself, and they find themselves truly on Xeros before they are made exhibits...

While the remainder of the book, as the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki try to avoid their fate of ending up on display, has some interesting elements, not the least of which is speculation about whether various possible actions will ensure or prevent heir supposed fate, it takes place in a fairly dull environment.The native Xerons are rising up against their conquerors, the Moroks, who have built the museum to display their triumphs in war (including the Daleks!A most unlikely claim - I'm sure they were included on the cover to make the book sell better).

The novelisation is by Glyn Jones, who wrote the original script, but it fails to make the story much more interesting.It has some good ideas that are swamped by the blandness of the rest.Forgettable. ... Read more

Product Description
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum draws more visitors than any other museum in the world—90,000 a day in the summertime—and the highlight of summer 2007 at the NASM will be "Fly Now," the exhibit of air travel posters featured in this unique companion volume which combines arresting, colorful art, rare archival material, and a unique approach to aeronautical history.

The posters—most of them never before published—feature barnstormers, gliders, and flying boats; the earliest passenger flights, the first luxury-liners, mail carriers, jets, and much more. Spanning a century and a half, they combine the popular art and the commerce of their eras, with both explored in the entertaining, informative text by a longstanding National Air and Space Museum curator. From 19th-century circus impresarios offering rides in gaudy hot-air balloons to the sleek 21st-century airliners, they offer a fascinating illustrated history of flight as it evolved from an exotic realm inhabited only by visionaries and daredevils into our modern world of speedy jets and frequent flyers—no longer extraordinary, perhaps, but still echoing with the exhilarating thrill and glamorous excitement captured here.

Countless visitors to the museumÕs traveling poster exhibition and the permanent exhibition "America by Air" will delight in the gorgeous and wonderful graphics collected in this appealing, affordable book—and so will aviation buffs, armchair travelers, and poster connoisseurs everywhere. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

No poster credits, focus on writing
Great posters throughout, that is without a doubt. However, the writing is largely about the industry, not the posters, which baffles me. The biggest downer is the fact that there are NO ARTIST CREDITS. Not in the index, nowhere! Where are they?

A nice overview of Air Line promotional posters
I saw this book at the Smithsonian National Air and Space museum gift shop but didn't buy it at the time. Kind of pricey there, but I found it for cheap from an Amazon seller. It's a nice selection of posters from 18th Century balloons to the 1980's in the Smithsonian's collection. However, if you're a serious fan of nostalia, or retro graphics, I'd suggest both "Looping the Loop - Posters of Flight (Villard & Allen) and The Art of the Airways (Szurovy). I said "both" because the books aren't redundant. The first is more about (largely European) poster art through WW2, and the second focuses on Airline promotional posters from the "teens" through the '90's.

Big disappointment
Wowthis book was a major disappointment! The selection of posters is really poor compared to others on this subject. As an avid collector of aviation art and as an artist myselfgive this book a miss.

Not worth the purchase price
A poor design, bad editing, and incredibly lackluster. A purchase I regret making.

The writer seems content in believing that her words are more important than the very subject she's supposed to be covering - Airline Posters. What's with the 3rd grade point size? Are we all that far-sighted that we need 18 point text to deliver the message? Some of the nicest images - and there aren't nearly enough - are reduced to the point of being worthless. Or worse - they're enlarged so big that they're cropped. What? Is centering that difficult a concept for The Smithsonian? And explain why one would double-page through the gutter? Fully one-fifth of the image is stuck in between the binding!

Virtually worthless. The only saving grace is that there are a handful of nice images that are: Centered, not cropped, not cluttered or crowded off the page with text, and of decent quality. But not nearly enough to justify the purchase price.

I wonder how good this could have been had Chronicle Books handled the book?

Great poster book
I've been a fan of vintage flying and travel posters for many years.This book is one of the best I've seen.There is a poster on every page describing a little about each one.Some of I've seen before, but most I've never seen before.The printing and colors in the book are very well done.
If anyone is interested in travel or retro posters, this is a good book to start. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Silver Hill
This facility is now closed. It has been replaced by the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. ... Read more

Product Description
This fully illustrated guide to the world's most-visited aviation and space museum is both an indispensable companion for visitors and a detailed history in itself of humanity's quest for flight. The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) houses the world's greatest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft plus an amazing assortment of other historic objects. Many fascinating items from the twenty-three galleries and two off-site facilities are presented here in 197 full-color photographs, and are accompanied by their equally intriguing stories. ... Read more

Product Description
A little book that celebrates a remarkable building. ... Read more

Product Description
Combining material from the earliest days of aviation and the latest in space-age exploration, this book will introduce your child to the wonderful world of astronauts, fliers (Lindbergh, Earhart, Yeager), jets, telescopes and much m ore. Part of the ABC Series. 30 illustrations, 29 in full color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Big Words from Little Mouths!
My three year old loves this book.While he recognized some of the items (jets and kite), it was fun for him to learn new words for the alphabet (Einstein, Uranus) beyond the usual.And what a kick to hear those sophisticated words out of his little mouth!Along with the new words, thepictures drove his desire to review this book over and over again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A very good Airplane Museum Reference book
This book is a very good reference if you wish to visit airplane museums in the United States.It covers the museums location, phone number, hours of operation and what kinds of planes are on display.There was a lot of research put into this book and I highly recommend it.C. Jeff Dyrek, the yellow airplane guy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

America's Hangar
Never received the product.Ordered 11/21 08.Received e mail stating book had been damaged andthey could get me a copy from another source.I elected that choice and still have not received the book.Don't recommend ordering books from Amazon.comagain. ... Read more

Product Description
Since that windy day in 1903 when the Wright brothers became airborne, the world has witnessed amazing advances in aviation and space flight. Among the highlights of this definitive pictorial review are the Wright brothers' flyer, Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the first airplane to circumnavigate the globe and much more. Full-color illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Better than one hundred rolls of film.
"Treasures of the National Air and Space Museum" beautifully capture the best this vibrant museum has to offer.The 300 illustrations are an homage to aviation history:the famous aircraft, experimentalvehicles and the obscure vessels.The illustrations include the Spirit ofSt. Louis, the Wright Flyer, Mercury and Apollo backup spacecraft,representative cutting edge aircraft for their time, and a host of otherwonderful photographs.

The museum also owns an impressive collection ofaviation-related art which this book also includes.

You can spend days inthe actual museum and not get to see all it offers, but this book will giveyou a head start and an appreciation for the breadth of the museum'scollection. ... Read more

Product Description

Reshaping Museum Space pulls together the views of an international group of museum professionals, architects, designers and academics highlights the complexity, significance and malleability of museum space,  and provides reflections upon recent developments in museum architecture and exhibition design.

Various chapters concentrate on the process of architectural and spatial reshaping, and the problems of navigating the often contradictory agendas and aspirations of the broad range of professionals and stakeholders involved in any new project.

Contributors review recent new build, expansion and exhibition projects questioning the types of museum space required at the beginning of the twenty-first century and highlighting a range of possibilities for creative museum design.

Essential reading for anyone involved in creating, designing and project managing the development of museum exhibits, and vital reading for students of the discipline.

Product Description
Founded by Reuben H. Fleet in 1923, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation (later Convair) became one of the most significant aircraft manufacturers in American history. For roughly 60 years, this prolific company was synonymous with San Diego. In fact, whole sections of the city were designed to provide homes for the Convair workers and their families. These men and women were responsible for building some of the most significant aircraft in aviation history, including the PBY Catalina, B-24 Liberator, F-102 Delta Dagger, as well as the reliable Atlas missile, which was vital in launching America into space. To this day, more than a decade after the company passed from the San Diego scene, tens of thousands of San Diegans still celebrate a seminal connection with Reuben Fleet, his company, and his popular slogan, Nothing short of right is right. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Perfect Read for a WW-II flyboy
I gave this book as a gift to my Father-in-Law as I knew he held great regard for the Navy Catalina PBY he flew during WW-II.It turned out to be a perfect stocking stuffer; he remarks frequently at learning new facts about the Consolidated Company, and about all the other aircraft they constructed during the war years.He is an avid reader and found the book to be both interesting and informative.I would recommend this book if you have a history buff, or an ageing WW-II retired pilot, interested in reading about the old (glory) days; it was a perfect gift. ... Read more