Boeing: Planemaker to the World - by Robert Redding and Bill Yenne
I picked this book up off the bargin bin for $5 earlier this year, coming from only a basic understanding of the company's history, and by interest created by enjoying the Dreamfleet 727 in FS2004. Aside from a few issues, this title does a good job of introducing the history of the Boeing company, in addition to providing a great collection of photos of this history.
The opening four chapters outline the founding of the Boeing company through it's early military aircrafts, the prop airliners, flying boats, and finally the big bombers of World War 2. These chapters provide very nice details about the aircraft as well as the production line as the years move on. Most of the pages covering the early Boeing fighters are lighter on text and feature more large images and specifications, while sections on the prop airliners and flying boats are more text based, though are still nicely illustrated. There are two full spread cut-away drawings of the B-17, and a two page spread cut-away of the B-29. Counter to my expectations as a modern jet airliner fan, I found these chapters on the early company and military aircraft most enjoyable.
Following are two chapters focused on the postwar Boeing aircraft, and the move of airliners into the jet age. Interesting sections in the postwar chapter cover the adaptation of Boeing military aircraft into other variations, such as air refueler tankers and AWACS, and there is a good amount of space devoted to the B-52 development. The chapter on the jet age of airliners covers everything from the Boeing 707 through the 777, with each model presented in good detail. Both chapters contain numerous boxes containing specs and production numbers of each model, and the photos range from shots of airline liveries and unique models, to cockpits and Boeing production lines.
Closing out the book are several shorter chapters devoted to the other Boeing production lines, including helicopters from Vertol, Boeing hydrofoil naval development, and more briefly solar, wind, and public transport systems. Boeing Aerospace has a devoted chapter that covers rocket and cruise missile technology, satellite projects, as well as Boeing contributions to the NASA Apollo program.
For the most part this is good reading, though there are some issues which I found. Firstly, some might say that the book has a strong tilt in favor of Boeing. Such moments didn't really detract from the book for me, but I did notice them enough times to make note of it. Second, in the later chapters there are some passages which clearly were written in later years as the book was revised. For instance, occasional passages which speak in the present tense of the early 1980s are immediately followed by comments referring to events in the late 1990s. While this doesn't get in the way of the information itself, for me the chronological changes were distracting.
Ultimately I enjoyed this as an introduction to the Boeing company, it's history, and it's products. As an aviation fan I found the many photos and specs, and the perspective of the Boeing aircraft from the development and production line to be quite enjoyable.
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Simmers Paintshop store for skinners and simmers - Boeing: Planemaker to the World
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