Tony Reichhardt

This little book is basically what you'd expect it to be: a collection of images of various objects and vehicles on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (including the museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia), along with relevant historical photographs. And it's a very good example of the sort of book it is. The pictures are well done, and well laid-out. The text describing each of them is succinct, clear, informative, and interesting. And the whole thing is nicely organized. It's no substitute for visiting the museum and seeing these things in person, of course, but it's nice for those without the opportunity to do so, or for those who have been there but who might enjoy a little retrospective.

Also, man, it is kind of interesting to see the entire history of aviation and aerospace laid out in this quick, visual fashion. You can know intellectually that only 66 years separated Kitty Hawk from Apollo 11, and that's mind-blowing enough, but being able to turn just a few pages that cover just a few decades and see all of that progress happening in front of you really brings home just how incredibly fast it's been.… (más)