"The Water Jump" reminds me of Ed Jablonski's "Atlantic Fever" - an historical review of Alcock & Brown, Earhart, Lindbergh, Corrigan etc. in the technical and political context of their time.
BTW - I have another Jablonski book, "Gershwin", a biography of the American composer. Jablonski shows himself to be a great historian and writer in more than one field.