Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World - Softcover

Hamilton-Paterson, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571247954 ISBN 13: 9780571247950

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2011

Synopsis

In 1945 Britain was the world's leading designer and builder of aircraft - a world-class achievement that was not mere rhetoric. And what aircraft they were. The sleek Comet, the first jet airliner. The awesome delta-winged Vulcan, an intercontinental bomber that could be thrown about the sky like a fighter. The Hawker Hunter, the most beautiful fighter-jet ever built and the Lightning, which could zoom ten miles above the clouds in a couple of minutes and whose pilots rated flying it as better than sex.

How did Britain so lose the plot that today there is not a single aircraft manufacturer of any significance in the country? What became of the great industry of de Havilland or Handley Page? And what was it like to be alive in that marvellous post-war moment when innovative new British aircraft made their debut, and pilots were the rock stars of the age?

James Hamilton-Paterson captures that season of glory in a compelling book that fuses his own memories of being a schoolboy plane spotter with a ruefully realistic history of British decline - its loss of self confidence and power. It is the story of great and charismatic machines and the men who flew them: heroes such as Bill Waterton, Neville Duke, John Derry and Bill Beaumont who took inconceivable risks, so that we could fly without a second thought.

About this title

Review:

An exhilarating book. Empire of the Clouds is by turns, thrilling, joyful, wistful and provocative. Bravery and beauty somehow escape the incompetence and capriciousness of officialdom in what is a very British version of The Right Stuff. I loved it. --Rowland White, author of Vulcan 607 and Phoenix Squadron

This is a fascinating account of what is likely to be Britain's final foray into military aviation. Mr Hamilton-Paterson is a knowledgeable and accomplished writer and his enthusiasm and his anger are infectious. --Len Deighton

A book of aerial wonder, sonic booms, exquisite aircraft and British heroes, beautifully told. --Jonathan Glancey, author of Spitfire

'The golden post-war age of British flying innovation and derring-do is beautifully evoked in a superbly written history.' --Sunday Times

A book of aerial wonder, sonic booms, exquisite aircraft and British heroes, beautifully told. --Jonathan Glancey, author of Spitfire

Book Description:

Empire of the Clouds by James Hamilton-Paterson is a brilliant, nostalgic and provocative look at the golden age of British aircraft, from the post-war jet age to the recent sad decline.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0571247954
• ISBN 13: 9780571247950
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416