The Balloonists
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Re-issued by The History Press in January 2010
Re-issued by Sutton Publishing in 2006
Originally published as The Aeronauts by Methuen in 1967
The first hot-air balloon flight was made by the Montgolfier brothers in 1783. Their exploits, and those of Rozier, Lunardi, Blanchard and other pioneering aeronauts, attracted the attention and admiration of the masses like nothing before. The aeronauts became heroes of their time.
The Balloonists, the new edition of LTC Rolt’s classic book, with a foreword by a famous modern-day aeronaut, Don Cameron, is a complete history of balloons and the intrepid men and women who flew in them, from the first balloon flight in 1783 up to 1903, when the Wright Brothers’ heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk changed the history of aviation for ever.
"Rolt’s book is the classic history of the pioneers of this wonderful invention of ballooning and it takes us through the science, the adventure and lives of the characters involved. It is thorough in its facts as well as being entertaining in its narrative. It should be essential reading for all aspiring balloon pilots and of great interest to any student of the beginnings of modern science."
Don Cameron in his foreword to the 2006 edition
