High Times: A History of Aviation [Concertina fold-out book]: Leporello Paperback – September 18, 2012

I bought this for my 14 year old son, who has been interested in aviation and aerospace since he was 4. When I gave it to him, he opened it up and immediately pronounced it, "Cool!" This is a major accomplishment for a mom of a teen, who is used to reactions ranging from apathy to disgust. Certainly, the format doesn't lend itself to a highly detailed account of aviation history, but this book is a true feast for the eyes, and should bring pleasure to aviation enthusiasts of most any age.

This is a beautiful fold out booklet with wonderful illustrations depicting an abridged history of the world of human flight. I'd love to frame it for the wall - the only problem is both sides are equally enchanting!

It took me some time to fully appreciate High Times, but I think it's an interesting leoprello or concertina style book given its unique format that presents a creative and thought provoking perspective on flight and related historical events over the ages. I think of High Times as a more sophisticated picture book where the material is printed on thick stock with panels that fold and unfold like accordion pleats rather than being a bound book with regular pages. High Times has an outer jacket with four panels that open to show via illustration and short narrative a condensed history of flight from ancient to modern times- beginning with ancient Greek mythology about Icarus falling from the sky and ending with the termination of the Space Shuttle program. A separate panoramic pullout that's ten panels long (but is double sided, so actually 20 panels) corresponds in order with the events in the jacket but uses illustration only to elaborate on the jacket content.High Times isn't a comprehensive aviation history. It's a condensed version especially suited to younger readers, yet it still provides a solid overview of milestones in the technological evolution of flight. By depicting when and how humankind has used its flight technology, High Times also captures important historical events, including the Vietnam War, the World Wars, the "Candy Bomber" when the Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin, the Cold War, space exploration and so much more. High Times also shows an evolution of humankind's thought about flight. An obvious example is how the one end of the time line depicts Icarus falling from the sky and shows a lack of technology but a great fascination with flight dating back to ancient times, while the other end shows in modern times the advanced capability of flying to the moon but a complacency or waning interest signified by the termination of the Space Shuttle program.The art in High Times uses geometric and basic shapes and is somewhat simplistic in color and form, but it's a bright and busy picture with lots of interesting concepts and details to pour over, and it does an excellent job transitioning between events in the time line. I appreciate it's content as it captures the reality of flight by including a broad spectrum of events, such as onlookers watching new flying machines with excitement, fighter and bomber planes used for war, plane crashes, the use of the helicopter for rescue and the passenger jet for travel, man walking on the moon and much more. Not every event is happy, but I see nothing gory and don't think this would be an authentic work if hardships or any negativity associated with flight were censored from a historical piece. I like High Times a lot and think it's a thought provoking leporello book that- especially with some adult input- provides plenty of information to stimulate and teach youngsters about flight and related historical events.Note: Although not toxic smelling, the printed material has a strong smell that reminds me of the smell of newsprint but stronger. After almost 2 weeks, it's dissipated some but hasn't disappeared.

Calling this a book is really not accurate. It is a compact folio which holds a long narrow double-sided poster. The poster measures roughly 9 3/4" x 54 3/4", or more precisely 25 cm X 139 cm. The poster is on high quality heavy stock. It is stylistically "retro", reminiscent of 1950s poster art. The colors are somewhat muted in theme but vivid (high quality ink). The package is nicely produced but does not contain a lot of information, all of it on the inside of the folio which could also be used as a poster (with colors and images which coordinate with the larger poster. One side illustrates the early history of flight from icarus through hot air balloons, prop planes amd zeppelins. The other side features more modern planes, jets and space exploration. (There is a single graphic of an astronaut).It outlines the history of flight from Icarus to the space age in short descriptive paragraphs on significant milestones. To my mind this would be most appropriate in a 4th or 5th grade classroom (though much more nicely produced than the typical classroom prop. While it is described as suitable for framing (and is very nicely produced) I would estimate the cost of a custom frame for this in the hundreds of dollars which makes it a bit impractical for most.The reason for my 4 star rating is that having been described as a book I was expecting more information. It could be a 5 star poster (if you enjoy the style, colors etc.) but it is not much of a book.I will be asking my son if he would like this for his room and offering it to his teachers if he doesn't. It is attractive, interesting and nicely produced but not very informative. I do, however think it would be nice in a classroom where it could illustrate or serve as a reminder of instruction. It also might be a nice gift for aviation buffs.

Great imagery and accessible to people of all ages, who appreciate a graphic style of illustration. This ‘book’ is more of an artwork than a source for information but is an amazing and engaging visual about air travel. Bright and colourful.

I bought this for my 4 year old for his birthday as I'd seen it in a magazine article and liked the illustrations. When it arrived, it was much better than expected! This isn't a book at all, it's a fold-out, double sided mural, printed on good quality, thick card. I'd say over a metre long, it's now beautifully decorating my son's bedroom, where he studies it's details daily. One side has the history of flight, the other side is more modern, including space travel. There's also a cover (about 4 pages that fold out) that's separate, that tells you the story of flight from the images. I can highly recommend this; it would make a wonderful gift for any little boy.

Great print quality and very interesting to look through. It was a gift and the receiver really loved it! :)