"The Airbus was initially designed and developed in order to provide a contender to the Boeing's growing monopoly of the skies in the biggest large-aircraft market in the world. Ambitious in design, the undertaking seemed mammoth. Yet scores of aviation engineers and pilots worked to get the design off the ground and the Airbus in our skies. This double-decker, wide-body, four engine jet airliner promised to redefine expectations when it came to commercial flight. Five years onfrom its launch, Graham Simons proides us with this, an impressively illustrated narrative history of the craft, its achievements, and the legacy it looks set to provide to a new generation of aviation engineers, enthusiasts and passengers." --Book jacket.