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Sky as Frontier: Adventure, Aviation, and Empire. By David T. Courtwright. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2005. x, 284 pp. Cloth, $60.00, ISBN 1-58544-384-0. Paper, $24.95, ISBN 1-58544-419-7.)
As the title suggests, David T. Courtwright casts this overview of the impact of flight on the United States as a frontier narrative. He notes that there is nothing new in the application of this metaphor to characterize the development of aviation. The use of such words as frontier, pioneer, and conquest have provided the foundation for everything from airline advertising to advocacy for an aggressive space program.
The author's approach, however, is more nuanced and imaginative, and it operates on several levels. He links the old and new frontiers by arguing the extent to which the expansion of the American nation across the...