Download or read book Reach for the Skies written by Richard Branson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-04-28 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the world's most famous business leaders (and a well-known avian fanatic) explores the pioneers of flight. Bestselling author and billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has always been obsessed with the skies. To promote a new Virgin Airlines route, he became the first man to water ski behind a blimp. His Virgin Galactic venture will soon offer ordinary people the opportunity to experience spaceflight aboard the first commercial spaceliner, SpaceShipTwo. In Reach for the Skies, Branson examines the history of aviation over the last two hundred years, putting the spotlight on trailblazers such as: *Tony Jannus, who made the first ever commercial flight over Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1914. *Leo Valentin, the "bird man" who jumped from 9,000 feet wearing a pair of wooden wings in the 1950s. *Steve Fossett, who broke 130 world records in planes, balloons, and airships. The pioneers of flight-not just the world-famous Wright Brothers, but also lesser known visionaries and dreamers-made it possible for any of us with the desire and the commitment to reach for the skies ourselves.

Download or read book Reach for the Sky written by Paul Bricknill and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Only Plane in the Sky written by Garrett M. Graff and published by Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-09-10 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “This is history at its most immediate and moving…A marvelous and memorable book.” —Jon Meacham “Remarkable…A priceless civic gift…On page after page, a reader will encounter words that startle, or make him angry, or heartbroken.” —The Wall Street Journal “Visceral...I repeatedly cried…This book captures the emotions and unspooling horror of the day.” —NPR “Had me turning each page with my heart in my throat…There’s been a lot written about 9/11, but nothing like this. I urge you to read it.” —Katie Couric The first comprehensive oral history of September 11, 2001—a panoramic narrative woven from the voices of Americans on the front lines of an unprecedented national trauma. Over the past eighteen years, monumental literature has been published about 9/11, from Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower, which traced the rise of al-Qaeda, to The 9/11 Commission Report, the government’s definitive factual retrospective of the attacks. But one perspective has been missing up to this point—a 360-degree account of the day told through the voices of the people who experienced it. Now, in The Only Plane in the Sky, award-winning journalist and bestselling historian Garrett Graff tells the story of the day as it was lived—in the words of those who lived it. Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, recently declassified documents, original interviews, and oral histories from nearly five hundred government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends, and family members, Graff paints the most vivid and human portrait of the September 11 attacks yet. Beginning in the predawn hours of airports in the Northeast, we meet the ticket agents who unknowingly usher terrorists onto their flights, and the flight attendants inside the hijacked planes. In New York City, first responders confront a scene of unimaginable horror at the Twin Towers. From a secret bunker underneath the White House, officials watch for incoming planes on radar. Aboard the small number of unarmed fighter jets in the air, pilots make a pact to fly into a hijacked airliner if necessary to bring it down. In the skies above Pennsylvania, civilians aboard United Flight 93 make the ultimate sacrifice in their place. Then, as the day moves forward and flights are grounded nationwide, Air Force One circles the country alone, its passengers isolated and afraid. More than simply a collection of eyewitness testimonies, The Only Plane in the Sky is the historic narrative of how ordinary people grappled with extraordinary events in real time: the father and son working in the North Tower, caught on different ends of the impact zone; the firefighter searching for his wife who works at the World Trade Center; the operator of in-flight telephone calls who promises to share a passenger’s last words with his family; the beloved FDNY chaplain who bravely performs last rites for the dying, losing his own life when the Towers collapse; and the generals at the Pentagon who break down and weep when they are barred from rushing into the burning building to try to rescue their colleagues. At once a powerful tribute to the courage of everyday Americans and an essential addition to the literature of 9/11, The Only Plane in the Sky weaves together the unforgettable personal experiences of the men and women who found themselves caught at the center of an unprecedented human drama. The result is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives.

Download or read book Reaching for the Sky Empowering Girls Through Education written by Urvashi Sahni and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2017-09-12 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transforming the Lives of Impoverished Girls in Patriarchal Societies Since 2003 a privately funded high school in India has provided desperately needed education for girls from impoverished families in Lucknow, the capital and largest city in Uttar Pradesh. Urvashi Sahni, the founder of Prerna Girls School, has written a compelling narrative of how this modest school in northeast India has changed the lives of more than 5,000 girls and their families. Most important, it is through the perspectives of the girls themselves, rather than through a remote academic viewpoint, that Prerna’s success unfolds. The book focuses on the importance of education in bringing about gender equality in a patriarchal society. It shows how girls learn to be equal and autonomous persons in school as part of their official curriculum and how they use this learning to transform their lives and those of their families. The book’s central argument is that education can be truly transformative if it addresses the everyday reality of girls’ lives and responds to their special needs and challenges with respect and care. The example of just one relatively small school in one corner of India, the message and the stories it tells will inspire anyone concerned about the necessity of girls’ education, especially in developing countries. The lives of the girls at Prerna Girls School are largely representative of those of millions living in poor regions in countries where patriarchal structures and norms prevail.

Download or read book Reaching for the Stars written by José M. Hernández and published by Center Street. This book was released on 2012-09-04 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book that inspired the new film A Million Miles Away. Born into a family of migrant workers, toiling in the fields by the age of six, Jose M. Hernàndez dreamed of traveling through the night skies on a rocket ship. Reaching for the Stars is the inspiring story of how he realized that dream, becoming the first Mexican-American astronaut. Hernàndez didn't speak English till he was 12, and his peers often joined gangs, or skipped school. And yet, by his twenties he was part of an elite team helping develop technology for the early detection of breast cancer. He was turned down by NASA eleven times on his long journey to donning that famous orange space suit. Hernàndez message of hard work, education, perseverance, of "reaching for the stars," makes this a classic American autobiography.

Download or read book The Prince of the Skies written by Antonio Iturbe and published by Feiwel & Friends. This book was released on 2021-11-02 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping narrative of friendship and exploration, and an homage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, an unforgettable writer who touched the lives of millions of readers, and who was able to see the world through the eyes of a child. In the 1920s, long before he wrote The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was an accomplished pilot. Along with Jean Mermoz and Henri Guillaumet, he was chosen to pioneer new mail routes across the globe. No distance was too far and no mountain too high—each letter had to reach its destination. The three friends soared through the air, while back on solid ground, they dealt with a world torn apart by wars and political factions.

Download or read book Touch the Sky written by Ann Malaspina and published by Albert Whitman & Company. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CCBC Choices 2013 2014-2015 Children's Crown Award 2013-2014 Macy's Multicultural Collection of Children's Literature 2015 Louisiana Readers' Choice Master List A 2013 CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2013 Amelia Bloomer list 2013 IRA-CBC Children's Choices Best Children's Books of the Year 2013, Bank Street College Tells how Alice Coachman, born poor in Georgia, became the first African American woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Bare feet shouldn't fly. Long legs shouldn't spin. Braids shouldn't flap in the wind. 'Sit on the porch and be a lady,' Papa scolded Alice. In Alice's Georgia hometown, there was no track where an African-American girl could practice, so she made her own crossbar with sticks and rags. With the support of her coach, friends, and community, Alice started to win medals. Her dream to compete at the Olympics came true in 1948. This is an inspiring free-verse story of the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Photos of Alice Coachman are also included.

Download or read book Reach for the Skai written by Skai Jackson and published by Yearling. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Actress, activist, and now Dancing with the Stars competitor, Skai Jackson shares her lessons on life and her rise to stardom in this vibrant memoir about self-acceptance, girl empowerment, and the classy clapback. Actress and activist Skai Jackson is a star! Her rise to fame started on the popular Disney Channel shows Bunk'd and Jessie. Her cool sense of style led her to create her own fashion line. And her success has made her a major influencer, with millions of followers on Instagram, who isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in. But being a teen celebrity isn't always glamorous. For the first time, Skai discusses the negative experiences that sometimes come with living in the spotlight--the insecurities about her appearance, the challenges of separating her real personality from her TV roles, and the bullying she's faced both personally and professionally. She knows firsthand the struggles tweens and teens face today, and she has found her calling as an antibullying activist, known as the queen of the classy clapback. Skai is a positive force and a role model for inspiring change and embracing differences in others. Her story will encourage girls and boys alike to believe in themselves and to have the courage to reach for the sky and follow their dreams.

Download or read book Under Desert Skies written by Melissa L. Sevigny and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2016-02-25 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The book tells the story of how an upstart planetary laboratory in Tucson, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL), would help create the field of planetary science, breaking free from traditional astronomical techniques to embrace a wide range of disciplines necessary to study planets"--Provided by publisher.

Download or read book Empires of the Sky written by Alexander Rose and published by Random House. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Golden Age of Aviation is brought to life in this story of the giant Zeppelin airships that once roamed the sky—a story that ended with the fiery destruction of the Hindenburg. “Genius . . . a definitive tale of an incredible time when mere mortals learned to fly.”—Keith O’Brien, The New York Times At the dawn of the twentieth century, when human flight was still considered an impossibility, Germany’s Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin vied with the Wright Brothers to build the world’s first successful flying machine. As the Wrights labored to invent the airplane, Zeppelin fathered the remarkable airship, sparking a bitter rivalry between the two types of aircraft and their innovators that would last for decades, in the quest to control one of humanity’s most inspiring achievements. And it was the airship—not the airplane—that led the way. In the glittery 1920s, the count’s brilliant protégé, Hugo Eckener, achieved undreamed-of feats of daring and skill, including the extraordinary Round-the-World voyage of the Graf Zeppelin. At a time when America’s airplanes—rickety deathtraps held together by glue, screws, and luck—could barely make it from New York to Washington, D.C., Eckener’s airships serenely traversed oceans without a single crash, fatality, or injury. What Charles Lindbergh almost died doing—crossing the Atlantic in 1927—Eckener had effortlessly accomplished three years before the Spirit of St. Louis even took off. Even as the Nazis sought to exploit Zeppelins for their own nefarious purposes, Eckener built his masterwork, the behemoth Hindenburg—a marvel of design and engineering. Determined to forge an airline empire under the new flagship, Eckener met his match in Juan Trippe, the ruthlessly ambitious king of Pan American Airways, who believed his fleet of next-generation planes would vanquish Eckener’s coming airship armada. It was a fight only one man—and one technology—could win. Countering each other’s moves on the global chessboard, each seeking to wrest the advantage from his rival, the struggle for mastery of the air was a clash not only of technologies but of business, diplomacy, politics, personalities, and the two men’s vastly different dreams of the future. Empires of the Sky is the sweeping, untold tale of the duel that transfixed the world and helped create our modern age.

Download or read book The Skies Belong to Us written by Brendan I. Koerner and published by Crown. This book was released on 2014-06-17 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true stroy of the longest-distance hijacking in American history. In an America torn apart by the Vietnam War and the demise of '60s idealism, airplane hijackings were astonishingly routine. Over a five-year period starting in 1968, the desperate and disillusioned seized commercial jets nearly once a week, using guns, bombs, and jars of acid. Some hijackers wished to escape to foreign lands; others aimed to swap hostages for sacks of cash. Their criminal exploits mesmerized the country, never more so than when shattered Army veteran Roger Holder and mischievous party girl Cathy Kerkow managred to comandeer Western Airlines Flight 701 and flee across an ocean with a half-million dollars in ransom—a heist that remains the longest-distance hijacking in American history. More than just an enthralling story about a spectacular crime and its bittersweet, decades-long aftermath, The Skies Belong to Us is also a psychological portrait of America at its most turbulent and a testament to the madness that can grip a nation when politics fail.

Download or read book The Starry Sky Within written by Anna Henchman and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-01-16 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing unexplored connections between nineteenth-century astronomy and literature, The Starry Sky Within offers a new understanding of literary point of view as essentially multiple, mobile, and comparative. Nineteenth-century astronomy revealed a cosmos of celestial systems in constant motion. Stars, comets, planets, and moons coursed through space in complex and changing relation. As the skies were in motion, so too was the human subject. Astronomers showed that human beings never perceive the world from a stable position. The mobility of our bodies in space and the very structure of stereoscopic vision mean that point of view is neither singular nor stable. We always see the world as an amalgam of fractured perspectives. In this innovative study, Henchman shows that the reconceptualization of the skies gave poets and novelists new spaces in which to indulge their longing to escape the limitations of individual perspective. She links astronomy and optics to the form of the multiplot novel, with its many centers of consciousness, complex systems of relation, and criss-crossing points of view. Accounts of a world and a subject both in relative motion shaped the form of grand-scale narratives such as Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Bleak House, and Daniel Deronda. De Quincey, Tennyson, and Eliot befriended leading astronomers and visited observatories, while Hardy learned about astronomy from the vast popular literature of the day. These writers use cosmic distances to dislodge their readers from the earth, setting human perception against views from high above and then telescoping back to earth again. What results is a new perception of the mobility of point of view in both literature and science.

Download or read book Pebble in the Sky written by Isaac Asimov and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2010-04-27 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One moment Joseph Schwartz is a happily retired tailor in Chicago, 1949. The next he's a helpless stranger on Earth during the heyday of the first Galactic Empire. Earth, as he soon learns, is a backwater, just a pebble in the sky, despised by all the other 200 million planets of the Empire because its people dare to claim it's the original home of man. And Earth is poor, with great areas of radioactivity ruining much of its soil--so poor that everyone is sentenced to death at the age of sixty. Joseph Schwartz is sixty-two. This is young Isaac Asimov's first novel, full of wonders and ideas, the book that launched the novels of the Galactic Empire, culminating in the Foundation series. This is Golden Age SF at its finest. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Download or read book Scramble for the Skies written by Namrata Goswami and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a focus on China, the United States, and India, this book examines the economic ambitions of the second space race. The authors argue that space ambitions are informed by a combination of factors, including available resources, capability, elite preferences, and talent pool. The authors demonstrate how these influences affect the development of national space programs as well as policy and law.

Download or read book Reach for the Skies written by Mamman Jiya Vatsa and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Meeting in the Sky written by Rina Singh and published by Creative Editions. This book was released on 2019-08-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 20, 1943, a German pilot escorted an American bomber to safety; this remarkable, secret meeting in the sky inspired a lifelong quest to reunite as the two former enemies became friends.

Download or read book The Sky Is the Limit written by Lisa Swerling and published by Chronicle Books LLC. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling creators of Happiness Is comes a celebration of the many delightful, triumphant, silly, sweet, life-changing experiences that lie ahead. A world full of wonder is waiting for you . . . the sky is the limit of what you can do! The only thing needed to begin this marvelous adventure? YOU! From far-reaching endeavors to the quieter milestones that have a magic all of their own, this book celebrates life's most meaningful moments, and encourages readers to reach for a sky's worth of possibilities. • A joyous all-ages book perfect for families and children celebrating everyday accomplishments • An inspiring graduation read • Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar are the creators of the critically acclaimed and bestselling Happiness Is... series. In the spirit of Yay, You!, I Knew You Could, and Oh the Places You'll Go, The Sky Is the Limit will hold a cherished place in the hearts of readers young and old. • Read-aloud toddler books Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar are famed illustrators, the authors of the New York Times bestseller Me Without You, and the creators of the internationally beloved Happiness Is . . . brand. They live in Marin County, California.