Can Aeronautics be Art Deco? For readers of a fascinating book by Alexander Roca, the answer is resounding, "Yes!" Entitled simply, CRUSADER. it's the story of a unique twin boom, twin engined airplane of the same name that came out of Denver to aviate cross-country and wow the world in the mid-1930's. Roca is a newcomer to book publishing, but he weaves an enthralling story about the designer, Thomas Shelton, and other players in the effort to build and fly a radical, highly streamlined airplane during the depths of the Great Depression. And to put the Crusader in historical perspective, he has assembled a masterful collection of information about other Art Deco era designs in aviation, publishing, and industry.

The amazing tale of the Crusader, its brief moment in the sun, and its untimely end unfolds among literally hundreds of photos and illustrations, many in full color - the result of obviously exhaustive research. This is an oversize (eleven inches high, sixteen inches wide), extremely handsome, hardbound edition including a gorgeous full-color dust cover. Credit goes to Rare Birds Publishing for carrying out the production with a sense of design and expensive materials unusual in the publishing industry.

The book is one of those rare cross-over events in publishing. Its impressive size, eye-popping appearance and high production values stand in the best coffee-table tradition. Complimenting the gorgeous presentation, Roca has carefully culled from a variety of design sources to present a compelling case that the Crusader design was part and parcel of America's Art Deco or Streamline Era. One need look no further than the Crusader's sinuously faired, teardrop-shaped fuselage to see echoes of noted designers like Raymond Loewy, Norman Bel Geddes and R. Buckminster Fuller.

But this is more than an art book. Residing beside the pretty pictures and drawings is a wealth of fascinating technical detail, a comprehensive index and a virtual encyclopedia of later aircraft designs -- many obscure -- similar to the Crusader.

Printed in America and in limited numbers, this tome carries a fairly steep tariff. But the reader receives not only a potential collector’s item and a never-before-told piece of aviation history, but also poster-sized pages with color reproductions rivaling many expensive aviation art lithographs on the market.

Furthermore, the story of the Crusader's precipitous rise and mysterious fall reads like an exciting paperback novel. its a classic tale of an advanced iconoclastic design, that fell apparent victim to the establishment. Not at all unlike that of the TUCKER automobile, the story is flavored with business intrigue, high finances, courtroom drama, and perhaps industrial espionage and governmental collusion. ft also adds the excitment of aviation's golden age, with cameos by Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, William Randolph Hearst Jr. and Lady Drummond Hay. And all of it is true.

In fact, we can visualize CRUSADER as an exciting motion picture. Hollywood, are you listening? CRUSADER is available in finer bookstores everywhere. It can also be ordered direct from us or at Amazon.com .