This morning was my first hot air balloon ride! Astonishing, wondrous, of course—but also: it took 3 ground crew to "capture" the balloon on landing and safely guide it as it deflated. Inflating took many too. How did solo aerialists travel alone in 18th century? Any memoir recs?
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I wonder how realistic Verne's "5 weeks in a balloon" is. I read it a couple years ago -- many landings, but of course fiction.
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Air balloons have such a captivating history that I’ve enjoyed learning about in Empires of the Sky bookshop.org/books/empires-
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not exactly a memoir but Levels of Life by Julian Barnes - gosh he is one of my favorites and so powerful on the page, i forgot it was fiction (any book of his is really, at least for me, mind-cracking in terms of what is possible)
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This doesn't answer that question but is tangentially related and very interesting:
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Check out the book Age of Wonder, by Richard Holmes. Lots on the very early pioneers in there, in one of the chapters (book in general is great too). It’ll also point you in the direction of interesting memoirs.
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Yes, great call, and Richard Holmes actually wrote a whole, astounding, book on that era of ballooning: Falling Upwards goodreads.com/book/show/1731
Look out for the account of balloons and microfilm in the Siege of Paris!
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There are a couple books about Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897. It was a misguided attempt to catch up in the race to be the first to reach the North Pole and a fascinating story.
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