Today marks the start of the annual EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, WI. From demonstrations to new innovations, airplane rides to stunt shows, this weeklong event draws enthusiasts from all over the world, with over 750,000 attendees, making it the largest aviation event in the world.

For aviation lovers and history buffs, Robert Wohl’s The Spectacle of Flight, is an extraordinary account of the development of aviation, taking us from Charles Lindbergh’s dramatic New York-Paris flight to the horrifying bombing campaigns of World War II. Wohl recaptures in words and illustrations an era when a wide-ranging cast of characters—among them millionaire Howard Hughes, Italian dictator Mussolini, and architect Le Corbusier—fell under aviation’s spell. New in paperback and generously illustrated with rare photographs, paintings, and posters, this book offers a gripping account of aviation and its hold on the popular imagination during the years between 1920 and 1950.