Legend and Legacy: The Story of Boeing and Its People

Strategic B-17 and B-29 bombers of WW II; Cold War B-52s and Minuteman missiles; moon vehicles, space modules and the jumbo jets that made air travel commonplace--these are some of the aircraft highlighted in this revealing profile of Washington State's Boeing company by aviation writer Serling ( The President's Plane Is Missing ). Of even greater interest are the personalities--the executives, engineers, designers, skilled workers, union leaders, financiers, government regulators, and airline figures like Lindbergh, Trippe and Rickenbacker--who have played roles in the production of today's airliner, with its 4.5 million parts. Two futuristic items in this gripping industrial epic stand out: Boeing's early planning for flights to Mars in the next century and current computerized construction-planning programs, which may avert the kind of aircraft flaws that are currently discovered only in fatal accidents. Photos. (July)