Pan Am's Clippers were exceptionally luxurious planes that ferried the well-off all over the world until World War Two. They were then enlisted for military service. Roy Allen traces their development and final demise as a viable form of transport.

The flying-boat represents an important chapter in this history. Used in modest numbers at the outset, this beautiful craft was later to be developed and exploited significantly by Pan American - indeed, no airline company made more of the water-based aircraft, nor used it to greater effect, than this world-renowned company in the first twenty years of its operational life. This book is testament to that use. Through the carriage of mail and then passengers, Pan American built an ocean-crossing network using a fleet of flying-boats which became famous as the Pan American Clipper Ships. In the process of this development, aviation records were constantly set, ranging from the first airline to cross the Pacific, the first to encompass South America in its routes, and the first to offer fare-paying, scheduled services across the North Atlantic. The new service offered travelers, government officials, and even heads of state, unparalleled levels of comfort and luxury, and such innovations had to be accompanied by a good share of business acumen, promotional skill and high regard for passenger comfort. Revealing portraits are presented here of the key pioneering figures who pushed the technology ahead, and ultimately laid the foundations for the global air transport network and passenger services that we know today. The Pan Am Clipper Ships belong to one of aviation history's most inspiring and magical periods. Illustrated with over 100 archive photographs, this impressive book is a tribute to a technical wonder that continues to fascinate and captivate today and which, in its time, was the toast of international air travel.