The Mastery of the Air

"The Mastery of the Air" by William J. Claxton is a story about humankind's journey to fly, starting with the early dreams of soaring through the air. It celebrates the hard work and clever ideas of the first people who tried to make flying machines, focusing on how they didn't give up even when things got tough. The book begins by talking about how people have always wanted to fly, and then tells the exciting story of the Montgolfier brothers who invented the balloon. It shares how these brave inventors, along with people like M. Pilatre de Rozier, changed what people thought was possible and paved the way for even bigger and better inventions, setting the scene for future developments in flying technology and its role in big conflicts like The Great War.