Document created: 21 February 01
Published Aerospace Power Journal - Spring  2001

The Genesis of Flight: The Aeronautical History Collection of Colonel Richard Gimbel by Tom D. Crouch et al. University of Washington Press (http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/index. html) in association with Friends of the Air Force Academy Library, 1326 Fifth Avenue, Suite 555, Seattle, Washington 98101-2604, Fall 2000, 380 pages, $60.00.

This is a magnificent book. Rarely in life does one come across a book as profound as this one. The Genesis of Flight is absolutely astounding as a work of art, science, literature, and history. It clearly stands out as a pinnacle of scholarship, aptly reflecting the stellar reputation of the Air Force Academy Library’s Gimbel Collection of Aeronautical History. Yet, it is bigger than that. The publication of this book is, in many respects, one of the Academy’s finest hours in its 40-plus-year history.

It is primarily the product of the combined efforts of Academy archivist Duane Reed and the "Friends of the Library," led by former Academy superintendent Lt Gen A. P. Clark. A heroic leader who survived years of captivity as a prisoner of war in the Second World War, Clark has once again demonstrated his talent and drive to complete a successful mission. In contemporary effects-based targeting vernacular, this book is definitely a shack! It is particularly fitting that Reed, Brig Gen Philip D. Caine, and other members of the Friends of the Library executive committee dedicated the book to Clark (without his knowledge, I should mention).

The Genesis of Flight is an illustrated catalogue of the aeronautical collection of Col Richard Gimbel. As such, it rivals any books of this type found anywhere in the world. In fact, the Smithsonian Museum, the Musée du Louvre, the State Hermitage Museum, and other renowned art and science collections have no nicer products to illustrate their holdings. This book is a handsome coffee-table display of beautifully crafted plates and captions, but it is also a history text for students and scholars. It proceeds chronologically through the priceless Gimbel Collection of books, paintings, letters, engravings, coins, five-thousand-year-old Babylo-nian seals, and numerous other aeronautical memorabilia from dinner plates to sheet music to snuffboxes. The collection provides a remarkable adventure for most aviators who envision their profession as something relatively modern. Indeed, manned air and space flight is new—but mankind’s fascination with flight and the quest to conquer the third dimension have been around for thousands of years.

Colonel Gimbel was an avid collector of rare books and just about anything related to the study and appreciation of flying. As a United States Army Air Forces officer stationed in London who witnessed the effects of the famous blitz (German bombing) of the Second World War, he became interested in collecting aviation-related materials, partly in order to protect them from destruction. The fact that he was an heir to the Gimbel Department Store chain undoubtedly helped in that effort, which he continued after the war as curator of aeronautical literature at Yale University, his alma mater. By the time of his death in 1970, Gimbel had amassed a collection of more than 20,000 items.

But Gimbel had more than an academic appreciation of flight. He was himself a pilot and flew as an aerial gunner on combat sorties with Eighth Air Force over France and Germany until replaced by Capt Clark Gable. Interestingly, it was another famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, who coordinated with the Academy’s first superintendent, Lt Gen Hubert R. Harmon, to initiate the transfer of the aeronautical collection to the Academy specifically for the benefit of cadets, according to Gimbel’s wishes. Gimbel not only had a personal love of flight but also appreciated the value of his collection for the professional education of future flyers and aviation leaders.

Therefore, the Gimbel Collection does not reside in obscurity, and it is Reed who makes sure it is carefully preserved but still accessible to cadets, Academy faculty, and visiting scholars. The collection, as beautifully displayed and described in this book, represents the symphony of flight in all its historical majesty, humor, and tragedy. How quickly the reader is reminded of the personal courage and self-sacrifice displayed by early aviators, many—if not most—of whom appear to have died with their inventions. Particularly noteworthy in setting the stage and tempo of the air ensemble is Tom D. Crouch’s introduction, a scholarly perspective of aviators’ fascination with and exploration of flight. From the legends of Icarus to the aspirations of rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard, Crouch portrays the science and science fiction of humanity’s noble quest for the sky.

Beyond the importance of mastering the technicalities of aerodynamics, the full story of flight is also one of human imagination that evolved from impossible fantasies to the realm of the possible and the pragmatic. It is that picture of flight which is so eloquently captured in this book with illustrations and learned commentary. The familiar phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" rings quite true as spectacular engravings and prints bring to life fascinating events in the history of ballooning and heavier-than-air flight.

Adding to the book’s appeal are several helpful accouterments: an appendix, a bibliography, an index, and a very helpful chronology of flight. Also, in keeping with recent museum and collection publications, this book comes with a compact disk that provides a multimedia visit to the collection, which some high-tech readers and researchers may prefer. Self-opening and of unusually high fidelity, the CD provides an impressive electronic complement to the book.

In all, The Genesis of Flight constitutes a valuable resource for the student of aeronautical history who seeks to expand his or her understanding of the art and science of flight. It should be a part of the serious scholar’s library and will leave any reader with an intense desire to visit the Air Force Academy’s Gimbel Collection of Aeronautical History.

Lt Col Eric A. Ash, USAF
Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.