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The Balloonists
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Richard Branson, Virgin King: Inside Richard Branson's Business Empire
Richard Branson is one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and possibly its most successful public relations man. Whether he’s promoting the Sex Pistols, hitting British Airways with a multimillion-dollar libel suit, breaking the speed record for crossing the Atlantic by boat, or cracking a monopoly on condoms in the UK, Branson cultivates his public image relentlessly: hip, charming, casual, open-minded, nice, fun.But behind the dazzling smile, practical jokes, and notorious spontaneity (he once flipped Ivana Trump upside down at a party), there is another Richard Branson—shrewd, calculating businessman, relentless negotiator, almost compulsively daring risk taker. Based on interviews with Branson himself, his key advisers, his partners, friends, and enemies—and drawing on secret documents, letters, and court papers—this book reveals the compelling history of both a business empire and the man at its center. Richard Branson: Virgin King is the first fully independent, unauthorized account of one of the greatest success stories of our time. About the AuthorTim Jackson is a columnist and author of Turning Japanese: The Fight for Industrial Control of the New Europe (Harper Collins UK). He lives in London with his family..
Price: $3.98
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Magnificent Failure: Free Fall from the Edge of Space
The strange, exhilarating, and haunting story of the man who broke the world record for manned balloon altitude. Locked in a desperate Cold War race against the Soviets to find out if humans could survive in space and live through a free fall from space vehicles, the Pentagon gave civilian adventurer Nick Piantanida's Project Strato-Jump little notice until May Day, 1966. Operating in the shadows of well-funded, high-visibility Air Force and Navy projects, the former truck driver and pet store owner set a new world record for manned balloon altitude. Rising more than 23 miles over the South Dakota prairie, Piantanida nearly perished trying to set the world record for the highest free fall parachute jump from that height. On his next attempt, he would not be so lucky. In the spirit of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Magnificent Failure portrays a loner driven to test himself. The story recalls a by-gone era when men tested the limits of mortality armed only with an indomitable spirit, ingenuity, and (some say) sheer lunacy. Part harrowing adventure story, part space history, part psychological portrait of an extraordinary risk-taker, this story fascinates and intrigues the armchair adventurer in all of us. 22 b/w photographs, 3 b/w illustrations..
Price: $3.50
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The Balloonists: The History of the First Aeronauts
First published in 1966 as The Aeronauts: A History of Ballooning 1783-1903, this book is a complete history of balloons and the intrepid men who flew in them. Beginning in 1783, the year in which balloons first took flight, it ends in 1903, the year in which the Wright Brothers first heavier-than-air flight at Kittyhawk changed the history of aviation for ever. The exploits of balloonists attracted the attention and admiration of the masses like nothing before: within weeks of the first flights, its form featured in designs of wallpaper and fabrics, in jewels and on snuff boxes, and as balloon clocks and chandeliers. The aeronauts themselves became heroes of their time. From the first flight, by the Montgolfier brothers in a balloon of paper and cloth, through the first Channel crossing by air, showman aeronauts, female aeronauts, efforts to cross the Atlantic and the use of balloons in war, this is a wholly fascinating and riveting book. Lightly and entertainingly written, it includes lively extracts from journals and contemporary accounts, as well as engravings of the period. This new edition has a foreword by one of the foremost aeronauts of today, Don Cameron. .
Price: $10.38
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The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space (Bluejacket Paperback Series)
In the 1950s and early 1960s a small fraternity of daring, brilliant men made the first exploratory trips into the upper stratosphere, reaching the edge of outer space in tiny capsules suspended beneath plastic balloons. This book tells the story of these tenacious men as they labored on the cusp of a new age, seeing things that no one had ever seen and experiencing conditions no one was sure they could survive. Mostly U.S. Air Force and Navy officers, among them doctors, physicists, meteorologists, engineers, astronomers, and test pilots, they struggled with meager budgets, bureaucratic politics, and one another. It is a thrilling story of tremendous personal sacrifice and great risk for the promise of adventure and the opportunity to uncover a few precious aspects of the universe. Capt. Joseph Kittinger, for example, rode a balloon up to 103,000 feet in an open gondola and then stepped out and freefell to Earth, becoming the only person to break the sound barrier without a vehicle. Lt. Col. David Simons stayed aloft for a full day and night in a primitive pressurized capsule to become one of the first to see the curvature of the planet. In this work, Craig Ryan masterfully captures the drama of their spectacular achievements and those of many of the other space pioneers who made America's stratospheric balloon programs possible. 344 pages. 20 photographs. Line drawings. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Paperback. 6 x 9 inches..
Price: $12.41
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America's Daredevil Balloonist: W. H. Donaldson, 1840-1875
Washington Harrison Donaldson, America's greatest daredevil balloonist, took to the sky when ballooning fever was at its zenith, performing daily ascensions and attempting a transAtlantic balloon trip to Europe. Donaldson, naturally fond of romantic adventures, was introduced early on to pantomime and the stage, and was destined to become an exhibitionist. He was the first to use the velocipede on a tightrope the bicycle with pedals attached to the front wheel. He even offered, for money, to drive a mule over a wire rope stretched across Niagara Falls. In 1862, Donaldson thrilled Philadelphians by walking a rope spanning the Schuylkill River below Fairmount Bridge. The rope, 100 feet above the water, stretched over 1,000 feet. Forever the showman, Donaldson added to the excitement by leaping from the rope into the river! But Donaldson became bored with the monotony of rope-walking, and in 1871 began his balloon ascensions, which he continued until July 15th, 1875, when he made his 139th and last flight from P.T. Barnum's Hippodrome in Chicago. His final, controversial flight was in the huge P.T. Barnum, with a capacity of 83,000 cubic feet of gas the balloon he had also used the year before to carry a wedding party aloft, the first marriage in the clouds. On Thursday, July 15th, Donaldson and his passenger, reporter Newton S. Grimwood, lifted off from Chicago, in their attempt to cross tempestuous Lake Michigan. The adventurers were last sighted 30 miles out over the huge inland waterway, known for its sudden weather changes and turbulence. By Friday, it was evident that Donaldson and Grimwood seemed to have vanished. Sightings of a life preserver in the water . . . dispatches from Canada noting a "large balloon passing". . . even sightings of Donaldson abroad perpetuated "The Donaldson Mystery.".
Price: $40.00
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The Little Balloonist
This irresistible literary love story set in Napoleonic France was inspired by the life of Sophie Blanchard, one of the first women to fly. Bringing to mind bestselling historical novels such as I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendelsohn, and Silk by Alessandro Baricco, The Little Balloonist tells the story of Sophie Blanchards journey from the humble seaside village of La Saliere to the battlefields and court of Napoleon. Frolicking on the beach and falling in love with her childhood friend Andre Giroux, Sophie felt she had all she would ever need. But her parents have other ideas, and they marry her off to a wealthy and much older man. Jean-Pierre Blanchard leaves much to be desired as a husband, but he teaches Sophie the workings of his giant hydrogen balloons. Soon she is flying alongside her husband, at home in the air in a way that she never was on land. After Jean-Pierres death, Sophie gains fame throughout France for her daring feats and catches the eye of Napoleon himself, who is captivated by the petite young widows courage. But even as Napoleons interest becomes more intenseand therefore more dangerousAndre returns to rekindle their lost love. Capturing a fascinating era of history, The Little Ballonist brings to life one womans struggle to forge her own destiny. It is beautifully illustrated with seven period etchings.
Praise for Linda Donns The Roosevelt Cousins:
[A] powerful testament to their family, its character and its conviction.
JONATHAN YARDLEY, THE WASHINGTON POST
Elegant writing, psychological insight, and useful photographs make for absorbing reading. Highly recommended.
LIBRARY JOURNAL.
Price: $0.88
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