Richard Holmes (Get this book) The biographer of two great Romantics relates yet another romantic tale--the story of the human passion to fly up, up and away in a beautiful balloon. Holmes begins with a memory--a flying dream from childhood--mentions Daedalus and Icarus, some balloons in literature, films and popular culture, and then lifts off into another of his delightfully soaring histories. He notes that the French were the first to use balloons for military purposes (reconnaissance), then tells us about some of the most notable balloon pioneers, including Andre-Jacques Garnerin, who also pioneered parachutes. Meticulous history illuminated and animated by personal passion, carried aloft by volant prose.--Kirkus
