The Nation's Hangar

Praise

The Nation’s Hangar: Aircraft Treasures of the Smithsonian takes the reader on a fascinating journey through 60-odd years of aeronautical history. He reviews the priceless aircraft and artifacts currently housed in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a mammoth four-hangar repository, and discusses the center’s accession criteria, principles of preservation, space, display, and funding challenges. Van der Linden’s informative narrative acquaints readers with such period exhibits as international military fighters and bombers, passenger liners, helicopters, seaplanes, recreational and racing craft, utility flyers such as crop dusters, and the world’s fastest jet-powered manned plane—the U.S. SR-71 Blackbird. Equally compelling is his treatment of the talented people who bankrolled, designed, maintained, flew, and finally restored these magnificent birds to their pristine glory. His volume is replete with more than 225 full-color illustrations and 75 black-and-white photographs—a visual feast. VERDICT This splendidly crafted pictorial tribute to a national treasure will appeal to the full spectrum of aviation scholars, collectors, and dedicated buffs. Highly recommended.—John Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Cleveland