The American aerospace industry : from workshop to global enterprise /

Bilstein delineates the American aerospace industry in a fascinating new survey of this huge topic. He covers this large subject area with surprising detail in only 217 pages. His survey contains useful historical information in chronologically arranged chapters, starting with 1900 through the 1990s. Each chapter is divided according to smaller areas of the industry, such as private aircraft manufacturing or the role of government agencies in aerospace research. The author, an aerospace historian, weaves an accurate and compelling story of an industry, massive in scale, that is always on the move. Bilstein includes sketches of the personalities, events, technological innovations, and government involvement. He gracefully covers wide-ranging subjects such as the birth of some aerospace manufacturers in the early part of the century to the corporate mergers of late. A useful appendix includes tables of aircraft production statistics and a chronology of the industry. Highly recommended for all undergraduate and graduate level library collections. L. E. Clemens; United States Naval Academy