Ever since man's first ascent in a hot-air balloon in 1783, men and women have dreamed of being the first or fastest to fly around the world. Gathered here are all of the most exciting episodes in the history of round-the-world flight. Award-winning aviation writer Carroll V. Glines vividly recounts the thrilling efforts of pilots who battled time, the elements, and the limits of human endurance to circle the earth in a fascinating variety of aircraft. Here are the gripping true-life adventures of Wiley Post, Howard Hughes, Max Conrad, Jerrie Mock, John Glenn, Dick Rutan, Jeana Yeager, the original crew of the space shuttle Columbia, and many other heroes of aviation. An entertaining and highly informative look at the achievements of aviation history's most ardent record-breakers, Round-the-World Flights is a book that no pilot or armchair aviator will be content to read only once.