Zig-Zag-and-Swirl: Alfred W. Lawson's Quest for Greatness

655 Pages·1991·4.53 MB·English

by  Lyell D.

Zig-zag-and-swirl : Alfred W. Lawson's
title:
Quest for Greatness
author: Henry, Lyell D.
publisher: University of Iowa Press
isbn10 | asin: 0877453128
print isbn13: 9780877453123
ebook isbn13: 9781587291081
language: English
Lawson, Alfred W.--(Alfred William),-
subject -1869-1954, Aircraft industry--United
States--Biography.
publication date: 1991
lcc: TL540.L35H46 1991eb
ddc: 338.7/629133/34092
Lawson, Alfred W.--(Alfred William),-
subject: -1869-1954, Aircraft industry--United
States--Biography.
Page i
Zig-Zag-and-Swirl
Page ii
Page iii
Zig-Zag-and-Swirl
Alfred W. Lawson's Quest for Greatness
by Lyell D. Henry, Jr.
University of Iowa Press
Iowa City
University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242
Copyright © 1991 by the University of Iowa
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 1991
Design byvRichard Hendel
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form orvby any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying andvrecording,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed on acid-free paper
Frontispiece from Aerial Age Weekly,
October 25, 1920
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Publication Data
Henry, Lyell D., 1935-
Zig-zag-and-swirl: Alfred W. Lawson's quest
for greatness/by Lyell D. Henry, Jr.1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and
index.
ISBN 0-87745-312-8 (alk. paper)
1. Lawson, Alfred W. (Alfred William),
18691954. 2. Aircraft industryUnited
StatesBiography. I. Title.
540. 35 46 1991
TL L H
338.7'629133'34092dc20 90-49730
[B] CIP

Page v
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Prologue: "Yes, Alfred William Lawson is God's great xiii
eternal gift to man"
Part One: Seedtime of a Self-made Man 1
1. Childhood Days 4
2. The Magic Man of Baseball 19
3. Born Again 39
Part Two: Fanning the Aeronautical Blaze 57
4. Aircraft Industry Builder 60
5. The Columbus of the Air 84
Part Three: From Aviator to Avatar 111
6. The Wizard of Reason and the Origin of Lawsonomy 114
7. The New Emancipator and His Perfect Economic Plan 128
8. The Man of Destiny and the Direct Credits Crusade 143
9. The First Knowledgian and the Upgrading of Humanity 183
Part Four: Utopia in Des Moines 201
10. Toward the Self-perpetuating Social Body 203
11. Alma Mater of the New Species 223
12. Collapsing Equaeverpoise 247

Page vi
Part Five: Lawsonian Legacies 279
13. The Last Knowledgians 282
14. Lawson and America 294
Notes and Sources 317
Index 333