What Does a Test Pilot Do? (1969)

Although mostly about aviation and planes this book does have a few cool photographs of some of the other vehicles test pilots got to fly. (POSTSCRIPT Some people on another blog were asking what is that plane on the cover. It is the Bell X-22 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_X-22 )

Wells, Robert. What does a test pilot do? New York: Dodd, Mead 64 p. illus. 23 cm.(1969)

While probably everyone has seen photographs of the LLRV it was one of the crazier vehicles that was ever flown. Famously unstable there is a great YouTube video of an astronaut using the built-in ejector seat right before it crashes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qhcs6qiHLI

The other treat is some photographs I had not seen of the "Lifting body" planes.

I love this close-up. It really does look like those spaceships from science fiction with it chrome body and "bubble" cockpit.

"The possible spacecraft of the future".  These ships were too cool.