Jetpack Dreams: One Man's Up and Down (But Mostly Down) Search for the Greatest Invention That Never Was
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.51 (827 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0306815281 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-02-16 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Montandon explains, for readers who don't attend the venues where jetpack jockeys rake in thousands of dollars from viewers who want to see a few seconds of flight, that the sticking point with jetpack technology is that you can't pack enough concentrated hydrogen peroxide on your back to fly for very long. Freelance writer Montandon, editor of Innocent When You Dream: The Tom Waits Reader, documents his search for the ultimate jetpack; along the way he encounters an offbeat bunch of middle-aged men with the same obsession. From Publishers Weekly Generations of boys, inspired by characters from Buck Rogers to Boba Fett, have dreamed of flying with jetpacks strapped to their backs. (Nov.)C
"Pursuing the Dream" according to Rob Hardy. Previous centuries didn't have science fiction as we have had science fiction. We have had descriptions and depictions of the future, from _Metropolis_ to _Flash Gordon_ to _2001_; none of the predictions comes close to what the future actually brought. No one fifty years ago could have expected the scientific and electronic marvels we have now at our fingertips. We have zipped into the future, a. Five Stars mrblackbelt Love the book can't wait until these machines are available.. James D. Crabtree said One of the few books on the subject. An interesting book, but it would probably be better as a pop-culture book on jetpacks than a technical study. There are some great pics but little in the way of illustrations as to how this technology works. Plus, many of the descriptions of the oddball people and oddball places get to be kind of annoying as you try to sort out the core of the subject: the jetpack. Still, if this is a subject yo
While exploring our collective fascination with flight, the tale takes readers from the first flimsy, shoulder-mounted wings to Bill Suitor’s 1984 Olympic flight in front of billions of viewers around the world; from a gruesome jetpack-driven murder in Houston in the mid-1990s to the secret laboratories and government facilities of today. Ultimately, it’s the search for an answer to two simple questions: Where is the jetpack that was promised to him, and to all of us, years ago? And if it’s out there, can he catch a ride?. Jetpack Dreams chronicles the colorful pop history and science of that most amazing and mysterious of machines, the jetpack. Journalist Mac Montandon also explores Hollywood’s fascination with the subject, from the 1949 serial King of the Rocket Men to Lost in Space, The Jetsons and The Rocketeer to the cultural jetpack phenomenon represented by Buck Rogers,