Evans, Lorraine Boneyards of Steel

Exploring the World's Aircraft Graveyards

The study of aircraft graveyards is an often overlooked area of ??thanatology. The final resting places of these colossal, non-organic giants are frequently ignoredyet they are, in every sense, cemeteries that deserve to be recognized as such. From sprawling desert necropolises to war-scarred underwater mausoleums, few places on Earth remain untouched by this phenomenon of "boneyards," and yet little has been written about these remarkable sites. This is hardly surprising, given that many of them languish in top-secret facilities, shielded by barbed-wire fences and secure exclusion zones. Thanks to technological advances, however, the adventurouswhether on-site or from the comfort of their armchairscan lift the veil of secrecy and catch a surreptitious glimpse of the skeletal remains of once-great marvels of aviation; the discoveries made in the process are truly astonishing. The book *Boneyards of Steel: Exploring the World's Aircraft Graveyards* invites the reader on a journey of discoverya mechanical odyssey leading to the remains of aircraft in some of the planet's most inhospitable regions. It breathes new lifemetaphorically speakinginto this diverse collection of technical relics and, above all, draws attention to a heritage that is often forgotten yet invaluable.