Eugene Burton Ely was buried the day after his 25th birthday, less than a half-mile from where he was born. No sooner had he captured the world's eye and gained the fame he sought, than he crashed into the earth.

Until 1911, the last year of his life, hardly anyone knew his name. More than a century later, nothing has changed. An Iowa farm boy afraid of heights, Ely was the first to land an airplane on the deck of a ship. To some, he is the father of naval aviation, the inspiration behind today's nuclear aircraft carriers--but many details of his life have been lost until now. This book seeks to fill this void.