Flying Cars

Stories of inventors who have aimed for the sky: “Start your engines and get ready to take off for an amazing read” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).   Humans have always wanted to fly—and as soon as there were planes and cars, many people saw a combination of the two as the next step for personal transportation. Visionary engineers and inventors did their best to make the flying car a reality, not just an elusive dream.   This book is a breezy account of hybrid vehicles and their creators, and of the intense drive that kept bringing inventors back to the drawing board despite repeated failures and the dictates of common sense. Illustrated with archival photos, this entertaining survey tells the stories of dreamers from Robert Fulton to Henry Ford to Buckminster Fuller, taking readers as far back as Icarus and forward into the present day—with a look toward the possibilities of the future as well.   “Readers learn about many intriguing airplane-car hybrids, such as the Airphibian, invented by Robert Fulton, who flew his vehicle at 110 miles per hour, landed it, single-handedly converted it into a car in under five minutes, then ‘drove the convertible proudly into Manhattan at a breezy 55 miles per hour.’ These stories of invention are undeniably appealing. . . . Fascinating.” —School Library Journal  Includes illustrations, source notes, bibliography, and an index