This book chronicles the beginning of heavier-than-air flying machines. These human-controlled machines carried both pilots and passengers into the sky. Today, this concept is taken for granted, but the process of discovering just how to perform this seeming miracle required much thought and courage by its developers. There were heroes and villains, entrepreneurs and opportunists, as there are in any venture. But know this: Each of them contributed to the miracle of flight in his own way. They were indeed amazing men in their flying machines . . . no matter how long they were actually airborne.