Washington DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, 1978. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. vi, [2], 454, [2] pages. Illustrations. Footnotes. The book includes a Foreword by Peter R. Clapper, Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs at the Federal Aviation Administration, and also includes the Author's Preface by Nick A. Komons, Agency Historian at the Federal Aviation Administration. The book also includes a Prologue, as well as chapters on the Background to the Air Commerce Act, 1918-1926, The Republican Era, 1926-1932, and The New Deal, 1933-1938. The book includes Bibliographical Comment and Notes, as well as an Index. Signed and inscribed on the front free endpaper by the author. Inscription reads: To Stu, One of my favorite historians--and people. Nick, 4/25/78. The author, Dr. Nick Komons, tells how the U.S. Government came to recognize the independent nature of the airplane and how, between 1926 and 1938, it organized itself to foster and regulate civil aviation's development. This volume is the second to appear of a four-volume history dealing with the Federal Aviation Administration and its predecessor agencies. More