On 17th December 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright soared into history during a 12-second flight on a secluded North Carolina beach. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first flight, these essays seek to chart the central role that aviation played in 20th-century history and capture the spirit of innovation and adventure that has characterized the history of flight. The contributors, all aerospace historians, consider four broad themes relating to the development of flight technology: innovation and the technology of flight; civil aeronautics and government policy; aerial warfare; and aviation in the American imagination. Through their attention to the political, economic, military and cultural history of flight, the authors establish that the Wrights' invention - and all that followed in both air and space - was one of the most significant technologies of the 20th century, fundamentally reshaping our world. This text is supported by the First Flight Centennial Commission.