Wings of Tomorrow: The Story of the Autogiro

New York: Brewer, Warren, and Putnam, 1931. First Edition. SIGNED by pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart on the half-title page. Earhart was married to one of the book's publishers, G.P. Putnam, at the time of the book's publication, which likely accounts for the occasion of the autograph.

An account of the creation of the autogiro, an experimental rotorcraft predating the modern helicopter, co-written by the machine's inventor, Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva.

On May 29, 1931, Earhart became the first woman to pilot one of these crafts: the Pitcairn autogiro, owned by Beech-Nut Packing Company, embarking on a coast-to-coast trip across the US. The craft was known by many as "The Black Maria" due to its propensity for life-threatening accidents, and required frequent stops due to its 52-gallon fuel capacity, but Earhart described it as "the answer to an aviator's prayer."

Earhart set the first autogiro altitude record, and would go on to set numerous records for women's speed-and-distance aviation between 1930 and 1935. Earhart's legendary final flight in 1937, part of an attempt to fly around the world, resulted in her disappearance over the Pacific Ocean—and remains unsolved to this day.

Near Fine, lacking the dust jacket, with light wear and very faint evidence of label removal on the front endpaper.

[Book #163829]