Flights of fancy : defying gravity by design & evolution / Richard Dawkins ; illustrated by Jana Lenzova.

"An Apollo book".

Includes index.

Dreams of flying -- What is flight good for? -- If flying is so great, why do some animals lose their wings? -- Flying is easy if you are small -- If you must be large and fly, increase your surface area out of proportion -- Unpowered flight : parachuting and gliding -- Powered flight in animals -- Be lighter than air -- Weightlessness -- Aerial plankton -- "Wings" for plants -- Differences between evolved and designed flying machines -- What is the use of half a wing? -- The outward urge : beyond flying.

Have you ever dreamt you could fly? Or imagined what it would be like to glide and swoop through the sky like a bird? Do you let your mind soar to unknown, magical spaces? In Flights of Fancy, Richard Dawkins explains how nature and humans have learned to overcome the pull of gravity and take to the skies. From the mythical Icarus, to the sadly extinct but spectacular bird Argentavis magnificens, from the Wright flyer and the 747, to the Tinkerbella fairyfly and the Peregrine falcon. But it is also about flights of the mind, about escaping the everyday - through science, ideas and imagination. Fascinating and beautifully illustrated, this is a unique collaboration between one of the world's leading scientists and a talented artist.

Ages 12 and up.