The Dominion of the Air: The Story of Aerial Navigation

"The Dominion of the Air: The Story of Aerial Navigation" by John M. Bacon is a historical exploration of how people first dreamed of and then started to achieve flight. It looks at the thinkers and inventors who built the foundation for today's flying machines. Starting with ancient ideas of people like Archytas and then moving to the efforts of Roger Bacon and the Montgolfier brothers, the book follows the steps humans took to figure out flight. Through stories of early tries, mixing myths with science and a strong desire to fly, it shows the difficulties and successes on the path to conquering the skies, from Bishop Wilkins’ early thoughts to the Montgolfier brothers' groundbreaking experiments with balloons.