Balloons and Airships: A Tale of Lighter Than Air Aviation

"Looks at the brave (and sometimes foolish) men and women who were responsible for . . . the development of manned flight" (History of War).

This book tells the often dramatic and always fascinating story of flight in lighter than air machines. For centuries man had dreamed of flying, but all attempts failed, until in 1782 the Montgolfier brothers constructed the world's first hot air balloon. The following year saw the first ascent with aeronauts—not human beings but a sheep, a duck and ...