The Way of the Air: A Description of Modern Aviation

The idea of this little book is to give as clear and graphic a description of modern aviation as circumstances will permit; of the new, heroic race of men to which Flying has given birth; of the conditions under, and the elements in, which their work is carried out, and the difficulties and dangers they have to encounter. Flying is essentially a profession for the younger generation. The strain is too great for men of more mature years. To withstand such strain requires all the vigor, the recklessness, the iron nerve of youth. It is a profession that offers an irresistible appeal to healthy-minded, sport-loving youth, to whom adventure is the nectar of existence.

The writer’s chief endeavor in the opening chapters has been to help the young man who wishes to adopt “Flying” as a profession. Part II of the book is composed of a collection of incidents taken from the diary of an air pilot on Active Service somewhere in the North of France. They are given in their original form. I also wish to thank the editors of the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Chronicle, Evening News, and Boys’ Friend for their courtesy in permitting me to use, in a few instances, material embodied in articles appearing in their journals.

E. C. M.

London, 1917.