A BEST BOOK OF THE YEARGUARDIANA BEST BOOK OF THE YEARNEW STATESMANA BEST BOOK OF THE YEARDAILY TELEGRAPHA BEST BOOK OF THE YEARNEW REPUBLICA MAGAZINE TOP 10 NONFICTION BOOK OF 2013TIME
From ambitious scientists rising above the clouds to analyse the air to war generals floating across enemy lines, Richard Holmes takes to the air in this heart-lifting history of pioneer balloonists.
asks why they risked their lives, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet. The stories range from early ballooning rivals to the long-distance voyages of American entrepreneurs; from the legendary balloon escape from the Prussian siege of Paris to dauntless James Glaisher, who in the 1860s flew seven miles above the earth – without oxygen.Falling Upwards
has inspired the Major Motion Picture The Aeronauts – in cinemas SOON.Falling Upwards