What have birds ever done for us?
For some of us, they are a backdrop in nature — songs in the countryside among the trees, in foliage and dotted in the landscape. For urban dwellers, their sight and song in our parks and on our streets may be a precious pleasure, or for some a nuisance.
"Accessibly written, meticulously researched, and beautifully illustrated, Spread Your Wings brings together a wealth of knowledge about the human quest to take flight and the many individuals and inventions that opened our way to the sky."
- Dr. Pia Kleber, Professor of Drama and Comparative Literature, Helen and Paul Phelan Chair in Drama, University of Toronto, University College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Spread Your Wings:
Icarus to 1912
Flight, The Men and Women
The author tells a tale of courageous explorers, inventors, pilots and entrepreneurs who set the scene for our landings on Mars and beyond. The story threads a path from ancient myths of flight to the remarkable realities of the early 1900s. How our thinking on this planet has been so thoroughly inspired by the mighty yet diminutive bird! And how vastly did those imaginative, pioneering men and women transform our elemental and early thoughts of flight!
Jacqueline A. Gibbons is an ethnographer, cultural sociologist and Professor Emeritus in Toronto, Canada. Jacqueline was born in St. Merryn, Cornwall, U.K., and spent her formative years within the sights, sounds and ambiance of aircraft.
She has done research in Australia, Egypt, Japan and India. Her numerous publications examine contexts of human imagination, challenge and creativity.
