How to Fly
Taking Wing with Birds, Bats, Insects and Humans
Published on 7. May 2026
336 pages
978-1-5266-8752-4 (ISBN)
Description
A unique and all-encompassing exploration of the wonders of flight and the way different species have evolved different solutions to the problem of defying gravity - including humans.
Flight fascinates us. We thrill to birds, we adore butterflies, we're baffled by bats and we can hardly believe in pterodactyls. We worship angels and we compare love, religious ecstasy and artistic achievement to flight. We love the idea of flight so much we invented machines that at last allowed us to fly. Many died to make human flight possible.
In How to Fly, bestselling writer Simon Barnes brings together all aspects of aerial life - evolution, technology, mythology, religion, nature and imagination - in a celebration of the wonders of flight. Barnes looks at the physics of flying and how flight has evolved quite separately four times over (or five, if we count humans). He examines how these creatures do it: from the nocturnal agility of bats and the bees that beat their wings 230 times per second, to the extinct reptile quetzalcoatlus with its 10-metre wingspan and the Arctic terns that travel 75,000km every year. He also explores how the great poets, mystics, saints, musicians and athletes have all, in their different ways, succeeded in getting high and getting us high.
Sweeping in scope and packed with fresh insights, How to Fly is a book that sets free the eagle within us all.
PRAISE FOR SIMON BARNES:
'Barnes makes you look and listen with new eyes and ears' STEPHEN FRY
'Quite simply, a writer in a class of his own' CLARE BALDING
'Barnes describes the wonders of nature with infectious enthusiasm' GUARDIAN
'Barnes is a passionate writer on wildlife' DAILY MAIL
Flight fascinates us. We thrill to birds, we adore butterflies, we're baffled by bats and we can hardly believe in pterodactyls. We worship angels and we compare love, religious ecstasy and artistic achievement to flight. We love the idea of flight so much we invented machines that at last allowed us to fly. Many died to make human flight possible.
In How to Fly, bestselling writer Simon Barnes brings together all aspects of aerial life - evolution, technology, mythology, religion, nature and imagination - in a celebration of the wonders of flight. Barnes looks at the physics of flying and how flight has evolved quite separately four times over (or five, if we count humans). He examines how these creatures do it: from the nocturnal agility of bats and the bees that beat their wings 230 times per second, to the extinct reptile quetzalcoatlus with its 10-metre wingspan and the Arctic terns that travel 75,000km every year. He also explores how the great poets, mystics, saints, musicians and athletes have all, in their different ways, succeeded in getting high and getting us high.
Sweeping in scope and packed with fresh insights, How to Fly is a book that sets free the eagle within us all.
PRAISE FOR SIMON BARNES:
'Barnes makes you look and listen with new eyes and ears' STEPHEN FRY
'Quite simply, a writer in a class of his own' CLARE BALDING
'Barnes describes the wonders of nature with infectious enthusiasm' GUARDIAN
'Barnes is a passionate writer on wildlife' DAILY MAIL
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
21,72 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-5266-8752-4 (9781526687524)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
05/2026
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€27.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Simon Barnes is a writer and journalist who was the chief sportswriter and wildlife columnist for The Times until 2014, having worked for the paper for 30 years. He is the author of many wild volumes, including the bestselling Bad Birdwatcher trilogy, Rewild Yourself and, most recently, Spring is the Only Season. He is a trustee of Conservation South Luangwa and patron of Save the Rhino. In 2014, he was awarded the Rothschild Medal for services to conservation. He lives in Norfolk with his family, where he manages several acres for wildlife.
