The fascinating story of the spy plane SR-71 Blackbird--the fastest manned aircraft in the history of aviation. The SR-71 Blackbird, the famed "spy" jet, was deliberately designed to be the world's fastest and highest-flying aircraft--and its success has never been approached since. It was conceived in the late 1950s by Lockheed Martin's highly secret 'Skunk Works' team under one of the most (possibly the most) brilliant aero designers of all time,...

"This narrative nonfiction work recounts the early years of air and space exploration and the daring exploits of America's first astronauts--both the men and women who were called upon to train."-- "In the 1960s, locked in a heated race to launch the first human into space, the United States selected seven superstar test pilots and former military air fighters to NASA's astronaut class -- the Mercury 7. The men endured grueling training and constant...