In my “F-86 Sabre Illustrated”, I used the old saying “Pretty Is As Pretty Does” to describe the Sabre as one of the best-looking and best performing jets ever built Those good looks also reinforced the engineering maxim; “If it looks good, it will fly good”. In the world of airliners, the same could be said of the Constellation. While most passenger/cargo airplanes of that era were designed around a fuselage that was little more than a round tube with pointy ends, the Constellation fuselage bespoke innovation. Its shape mimicked the aerodynamics of the wings, and its swooping curves seemed to accentuate all the lyrical elements of flight. The “Connie” as it became known universally, was more than just a pretty face though….It was an engineering advancement, designed by the aeronautical genius team of Hall Hibbard and Kelly Johnson, responding to the demands of Howard Hughes and TWA president Jack Frye. The 862 Constellations built served airlines worldwide into the late 1970s. In military service, the Constellation was a transport, a weather reconnaissance platform, a command and control mission coordinator, a sophisticated reconnaissance airplane, and served as Air Force One. The rich history of the Lockheed Constellation is highlighted in the dozens of photographs and illustrations herein.I only got to ride the Constellation one time, my second airplane ride as I returned to Chicago Midway Airport after completion of basic training at Fort Carson, Colorado. (The first ride was in a DC-3 from Colorado Springs to Kansas City.) Jet airliners were still in the future, so the Connie was pretty much the epitome of airline flying in 1955, and I do recall the surge of power from those four big radials as we made the relatively quick trip from KC to Midway. Four years later, I would drive to Chicago O’Hare International Airport just to get a look at the first jet airliner, the Boeing 707, the airplane which changed the airline industry forever, eventually dooming the careers of American piston-engine long-range airliners. Jets heralded the end of piston-powered airliners for luxury travel, but the Connie will always be among the most glamorous airplanes of that era, and the military versions continued in service for another two decades. This is a visual tribute to the Constellation in civil and military use, with over 200 color photos and illustrations.