Flights of Fancy: Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution
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- Create Date：2022-09-28 09:51:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Richard Dawkins
- ISBN：1838937862
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Summary
The Wonder of Flight。 The Science of Evolution。 From both， Richard Dawkins weaves a fascinating and beautifully illustrated account of how nature and humans have learned to overcome the pull of gravity and take to the skies。
Do you sometimes dream you can fly like a bird？ Gliding effortlessly above the treetops， soaring and swooping， playing and dodging through the third dimension。 Computer games， virtual reality headsets， and some drugs can lift our imagination and fly us through fabled， magical spaces。 But it's not the real thing。 No wonder some of the past's greatest minds， including Leonardo da Vinci's， have yearned for flying machines and struggled to design them。
Flights of Fancy is a book about flying – all the different ways of defying gravity that have been discovered by humans over the centuries and by other animals over the millions of years， from the mythical Icarus， to the sadly extinct but magnificent bird Argentavis magnificens， to the Wright Flyer and the 747。 But it also means flights of digression into more general ideas and principles that take off from a discussion about actual flight。
Fascinating and elegantly written， this is a unique collaboration between one of the world's leading zoologists and a talented artist， and perfect for enquiring teenage minds。
Do you sometimes dream you can fly like a bird？ Gliding effortlessly above the treetops， soaring and swooping， playing and dodging through the third dimension。 Computer games， virtual reality headsets， and some drugs can lift our imagination and fly us through fabled， magical spaces。 But it's not the real thing。 No wonder some of the past's greatest minds， including Leonardo da Vinci's， have yearned for flying machines and struggled to design them。
Flights of Fancy is a book about flying – all the different ways of defying gravity that have been discovered by humans over the centuries and by other animals over the millions of years， from the mythical Icarus， to the sadly extinct but magnificent bird Argentavis magnificens， to the Wright Flyer and the 747。 But it also means flights of digression into more general ideas and principles that take off from a discussion about actual flight。
Fascinating and elegantly written， this is a unique collaboration between one of the world's leading zoologists and a talented artist， and perfect for enquiring teenage minds。
Reviews
Katey
，
It could have been titled The Extended Book Chapter， as Dawkins said the flight portion of The Magic of Reality was too complex to condense for that book。 And indeed it does feel like a continuation of that project。 For my part， I am far more interested in the evolutionary and biological aspects of flight than a primary focus on the mechanics or physics， so I did gloss over the heavily human parts （i。e。 airplanes！）， but the book is still a nice overview of lots of facts without much of any parti It could have been titled The Extended Book Chapter， as Dawkins said the flight portion of The Magic of Reality was too complex to condense for that book。 And indeed it does feel like a continuation of that project。 For my part， I am far more interested in the evolutionary and biological aspects of flight than a primary focus on the mechanics or physics， so I did gloss over the heavily human parts （i。e。 airplanes！）， but the book is still a nice overview of lots of facts without much of any particular deep diving （but leaves the reader with plenty more to think about）。 It is geared toward late middle school or high school aged readers， I think， and I am hoping my nephew will enjoy it。The illustrations are superb。 。。。more
Brian Mikołajczyk
，
Richard Dawkins writes about the history of flight， both nature and man-made。 He describes conceptually the physics of flight， how various animals have sought to defy gravity， and how humans have dreamed of flight throughout history and have achieved it。A really excellent book and masterfully illustrated by Jana Lenzova。
Sheila Ross
，
Such an interesting treatment of how nature and man have come up with ways to ‘defy gravity’ and fly。 Everything from birds and bees to pterosaurs and the physics and evolution of wings。 I read the audiobook so I may need to seek out the hardback to appreciate the illustrations。
Clare Kirwan
，
I loved this exploration of flight in all its forms。 It's a hummingbird of a book - delightfully dazzling as it flits logically from one tasty morsel to another （pterodactyl fingers， birds and bees， stealth bats， why statues of angels are wrong， the oscillating engine of the humble midge， what squirrel's tails are for and the physics and evolutionary biology of wings， both real and manufactured）… but is only the size it needs to be。 I enjoyed listening to Dawkins read it on the audio version - h I loved this exploration of flight in all its forms。 It's a hummingbird of a book - delightfully dazzling as it flits logically from one tasty morsel to another （pterodactyl fingers， birds and bees， stealth bats， why statues of angels are wrong， the oscillating engine of the humble midge， what squirrel's tails are for and the physics and evolutionary biology of wings， both real and manufactured）… but is only the size it needs to be。 I enjoyed listening to Dawkins read it on the audio version - haven’t tried him before and found his writing extremely clear， concise and funnier by far than I’d expected - but the gorgeous illustrations in the hard copy mean I’m probably going to have to buy one！ 。。。more
Alistair Jeffery
，
Dawkins has only recently published this book and at 81， I'm not convinced that he's poured quite the energy or thought of prior books into this one。 He uses the theme of flight to replay a number of his well established evolutionary arguments however， and he does it very effectively， using a number of interesting examples and anecdotes。 Its pitched towards a lay / teenage reader I think， but its still very entertaining for adults， particularly those interested in flight。 Worth a read / listen （ Dawkins has only recently published this book and at 81， I'm not convinced that he's poured quite the energy or thought of prior books into this one。 He uses the theme of flight to replay a number of his well established evolutionary arguments however， and he does it very effectively， using a number of interesting examples and anecdotes。 Its pitched towards a lay / teenage reader I think， but its still very entertaining for adults， particularly those interested in flight。 Worth a read / listen （he narrates on Audible very clearly himself）。 。。。more
Rudi
，
Een prachtig boek mede dankzij de mooie tekeningen， die het boek voorzag van vleugels， er werd soms wat van de hak op de tak gesprongen toch bleef het overzichtelijk。 Hoewel niet echt met vliegen te maken heeft de （ door mij wat vervormde ） zin wat doen nadenken: onze huid hoewel groot oppervlak heeft niet genoeg interactie met de ons omringende moleculen daarvoor hebben we ook longen nodig ， en een buik als huisvesting voor andere organismen die een interactie aangaan met opgenomen moleculen ， Een prachtig boek mede dankzij de mooie tekeningen， die het boek voorzag van vleugels， er werd soms wat van de hak op de tak gesprongen toch bleef het overzichtelijk。 Hoewel niet echt met vliegen te maken heeft de （ door mij wat vervormde ） zin wat doen nadenken: onze huid hoewel groot oppervlak heeft niet genoeg interactie met de ons omringende moleculen daarvoor hebben we ook longen nodig ， en een buik als huisvesting voor andere organismen die een interactie aangaan met opgenomen moleculen ， Met huid alleen lijken we het niet te redden Het verhaal over Bill Hamilton vond ik ook interssant， 2 puntjes die ik wat jammer vond was ruimte over wat het precies is waardoor gevlogen wordt wat meer uitleg over de velden en stralen zou ik wel leuk gevonden hebben ， het andere puntje dat het boek uit is ， Beam me up Scotty 。。。more
Deifilia
，
Somewhat interesting summary of a wide range of topics， including fluid dynamics， thermodynamics and theories of evolution。 At times， it felt like he was reading off a list。
Spotiflyer
，
A not particularly deep dive into flight ， it’s history and variations across species。 If you know little or nothing about flight， this is a reasonable first step， but if you’re an aviation enthusiast you’ll learn nothing new。 （ Well， I learned that some early birds had four wings - like Avatar！）Recommended for newbies。 Spotiflyer A not particularly deep dive into flight ， it’s history and variations across species。 If you know little or nothing about flight， this is a reasonable first step， but if you’re an aviation enthusiast you’ll learn nothing new。 （ Well， I learned that some early birds had four wings - like Avatar！）Recommended for newbies。 Spotiflyer 。。。more
Drew Cannon
，
This book discusses the evolution of flight， both in man-made machines and in animals。 Dawkins often compares/contrasts the two， helping the reader view the topic in a new way。 The illustrator here also did an amazing job。 The illustrations really help to visualize a lot of the topics being discussed by Dawkins。 Overall this was both a fun and informative book。
Cody Chung
，
The book was okay at best。 I can believe that Richard Dawkin wrote this。 I kept on going back and forth to make clear what he was trying to say in each chapter。 In short， it's a book of facts about flight without much science behind it and a bunch of wild assumptions that he does not try much to explain。 I love The Selfish Gene and other books wrote by Dawkins and I advise you to read them instead of this one。 The book was okay at best。 I can believe that Richard Dawkin wrote this。 I kept on going back and forth to make clear what he was trying to say in each chapter。 In short， it's a book of facts about flight without much science behind it and a bunch of wild assumptions that he does not try much to explain。 I love The Selfish Gene and other books wrote by Dawkins and I advise you to read them instead of this one。 。。。more
Keith Bruton
，
Flights of Fancy by Richard Dawkins。Got to see this legend in May promoting his new book。 Author of The God Delusion， The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution， The Extended Phenotype， The Selfish Gene and many more。This book was so much fun to read。 It explores the beauty of flight and how humans have overcome the pull of gravity。 The illustrations are extraordinary by Jana Lenzova。 Really recommend this one 👌
Anna
，
You'll find me where poetry meets science！Interesting， overall。 I love how Dawkings writes， it's right up my alley。 I am not an Elon Musk fan， and I found it weird that it was dedicated to him。 It shows how abstract of a world Dawkings lives in。 He and many other scientists with him are not in touch with the struggles of real people in the real world。 All these people who spew that Musk's vision will save humanity， for whom the success of humanity is nothing but our species surviving and reprodu You'll find me where poetry meets science！Interesting， overall。 I love how Dawkings writes， it's right up my alley。 I am not an Elon Musk fan， and I found it weird that it was dedicated to him。 It shows how abstract of a world Dawkings lives in。 He and many other scientists with him are not in touch with the struggles of real people in the real world。 All these people who spew that Musk's vision will save humanity， for whom the success of humanity is nothing but our species surviving and reproducing。 Success of a species is not in compassion， care， equality， community， it's just further life through reproduction and the material success of a few 。。。more
David Dean
，
Beautifully illustrated， and gentle prose。 Nothing to stretch the mind too much…。
Vladimiro Sousa
，
Dawkins is a very interesting person。 his book have that ability to wonder and make you curious about the universe。
Stephen Geiger
，
A wonderful book and a rather easy read compared to other Dawkins books。 This book clearly describes the evolution of flight， but also highlights evolutionary theory in a manner that would be accessible to anyone without scientific training。
Kirk
，
"Flights of Fancy" is a highly readable introduction to different ways that insects， birds， mammals， reptiles， and fish have evolved to fly or glide。 It's organized by the different physical principles involved in different types of flight。However， at one point Dawkins rants for several pages about the size wings that a human-sized angel would need in order to fly。I doubt that angels exist as more than a metaphor， but traditional Christian， Jewish， and Islamic views of them *start* from the prem "Flights of Fancy" is a highly readable introduction to different ways that insects， birds， mammals， reptiles， and fish have evolved to fly or glide。 It's organized by the different physical principles involved in different types of flight。However， at one point Dawkins rants for several pages about the size wings that a human-sized angel would need in order to fly。I doubt that angels exist as more than a metaphor， but traditional Christian， Jewish， and Islamic views of them *start* from the premise that they're incorporeal！ They can *seem* to have bodies， but they aren't thought to be bags of meat and bones that would need huge wings to move around。 In fact， to me， angels are of philosophical interest because they raise the question of whether disembodied intellects can exist。Most biblical angels just show up， with no mention of wings。 They're seen almost exclusively in dreams and visions。 But whether the Catholic doctrine of guardian angels is true or false， it doesn't imply that you could weigh one on a scale。I love Dawkins' writings as a biologist。 If he'd mentioned the painting of an angel only in passing and stifled his urge to wander off on a long anti-religious tirades， I'd give the book 5 stars。 。。。more
Peter Roehrich
，
Classic Dawkins， well written， entraining， and explains concepts clearly。 He neglected genetic drift as a mechanism of evolution， however， which seems to be a glaring omission。 Notwithstanding， Flights of Fancy is a great look into the world of animal flight。
Jorge Cimentada
，
Fun book。 Along the lines of magic of reality with clear examples on how birds evolved their wings from the 'half-a-wing' rethoric of creationists to full airplane like dinosaur birds。 Images were not as cool as in magic of reality but the explanations were just crystal clear。 I believe Dawkins has made a great effort at breaking down complicated concepts in his illustrated books。If you weigh heavy， increase your body surface and everybody can eventually fly 😀。 Fun book。 Along the lines of magic of reality with clear examples on how birds evolved their wings from the 'half-a-wing' rethoric of creationists to full airplane like dinosaur birds。 Images were not as cool as in magic of reality but the explanations were just crystal clear。 I believe Dawkins has made a great effort at breaking down complicated concepts in his illustrated books。If you weigh heavy， increase your body surface and everybody can eventually fly 😀。 。。。more
Hashim Al-Jazzaf
，
كتاب رائع جداً، حول تحدي الجاذبية عن طريق الطيران。。 طيران الكائنات الحية عبر الانتقاء الطبيعي وطيران الإنسان عن طريق الهندسة والتصميم。الكتاب ممتع من أوله لآخره، يشرح الطرق المتنوعة والمختلفة جذرياً في أساليب وطرق الطيران، ويسهب في الحديث عن عادات الطيور وطرق تحديد المواقع، والعلاقات المتنوعة بين الطيور والحشرات مع النباتات。يربط دوكنز أغلب فصول الكتاب مع نظرية التطور ويجيب عن أسئلة من قبيل: كيف تطورت الأجنحة؟ لماذا لا تطير جميع الكائنات؟ ما علاقة الطيران بالحجم؟
Chris Inman
，
A really beautiful book。 Linguistically， scientifically and artistically。 Dawkins writes with the usual prose I have come to expect from him。 The topic （evolution of flight， with occasional digressions into human designed flight） is covered in a perfectly detailed and very engaging way; I imagine， unlike the majority of his other books， that even a younger （early teens maybe） audience would be able to enjoy and comprehend this。 Finally， the images throughout really are the icing on the cake for A really beautiful book。 Linguistically， scientifically and artistically。 Dawkins writes with the usual prose I have come to expect from him。 The topic （evolution of flight， with occasional digressions into human designed flight） is covered in a perfectly detailed and very engaging way; I imagine， unlike the majority of his other books， that even a younger （early teens maybe） audience would be able to enjoy and comprehend this。 Finally， the images throughout really are the icing on the cake for the reading experience。 。。。more
Scott Humphries
，
A short but thorough and engaging work comparing and contrasting the evolution of flight in the animal kingdom versus the destined development of human flight。 Good stuff， right down to the discussions of Newton and Bernoulli！
Sara
，
This book was a lot of fun （don't be fooled by reading time。。。 I read slower in the winter）。 So starting out: Dawkins had an illustrator on board！ And the images in this book were pretty darn delightful。 For the first time， I missed having an Amazon Fire Kindle because the colors were also really nice。 Onto the content， this is just a topic that appeals to me as much as the author。 Flight and the evolution of flight is just a great topic （side note: Flying Dinosaurs: How Fearsome Reptiles Became This book was a lot of fun （don't be fooled by reading time。。。 I read slower in the winter）。 So starting out: Dawkins had an illustrator on board！ And the images in this book were pretty darn delightful。 For the first time， I missed having an Amazon Fire Kindle because the colors were also really nice。 Onto the content， this is just a topic that appeals to me as much as the author。 Flight and the evolution of flight is just a great topic （side note: Flying Dinosaurs: How Fearsome Reptiles Became Birds was a book I really enjoyed）。 Dawkins basically travels through all of the ways humans， animals， and plants achieve flight， ending with the evolution and future of flight。 I always enjoy the animal aspects of it， like comparing bat flight to bird flight and pterosaur flight。 There are also reasons to fly， limits to flight （being small helps）， and how animals and planes fly。 I actually even enjoyed the man-made flight examples， especially the aeronauts。 Hot air balloons are just kind of cool to me。 I hope to fly in one， one day。。。 All of the chapters are really short and palatable。 It's not the most dense book of Dawkins， but a lovely little read。 Recommended。 。。。more
David
，
I wish it were a longer book but still fascinating！
Sarah Murray Bradley
，
What a delightful book。 On finishing it I immediately began to think who I could buy it for， my sister certainly， she is fascinated by birds， my grandson perhaps。 The style is personal and intimate， jokey almost。 The topic immensely wide ranging; why half a wing？ Definitely recommended for an enjoyable easy read。
Sunita M
，
Richard Dawkins explains both how animals that can fly came to be; as well as， how they fly physically。 As in other books by him and by other great authors， this book inspires a sense of curiosity， by reminding the reader that despite how much we already know about the world there is still more to discover。 The author also explains and compares the origins and mechanisms that allow flight for man made flying and gliding machines such as air planes， helicopter's， and parachutes to evolved flying Richard Dawkins explains both how animals that can fly came to be; as well as， how they fly physically。 As in other books by him and by other great authors， this book inspires a sense of curiosity， by reminding the reader that despite how much we already know about the world there is still more to discover。 The author also explains and compares the origins and mechanisms that allow flight for man made flying and gliding machines such as air planes， helicopter's， and parachutes to evolved flying machines （animals）。 Top Follow 。。。more
Samsara
，
Ok read。 But it is bits and pieces of different facts about flying。
Carl
，
Great book on how species evolved flight and how humans learned to fly through design。 Great illustrations and writing make this a great book on flight and the evolution of flying。
grs
，
What did I read？ A bunch of random facts about birds， planes and insects？ That was pretty much it。 Didn't have any seriousness to it and I feel like he wrote the book just because he had a contractual obligation。 No flow at all。 Jumping from one subject to another。 What did I read？ A bunch of random facts about birds， planes and insects？ That was pretty much it。 Didn't have any seriousness to it and I feel like he wrote the book just because he had a contractual obligation。 No flow at all。 Jumping from one subject to another。 。。。more
Kiril Valchev
，