People have always dreamed of flying like birds, and this book describes how that dream became something near reality. The first breakthrough was in the 18th century, when the Montgolfier brothers flew a hot-air balloon for the first time. Fixed-wing aircraft and planes driven by internal-combustion engines followed. Over the past century the pace of invention has accelerated. Jet-powered aircraft travel at supersonic speeds, and powerful rockets have enabled people to go to the Moon and, potentially, far beyond.