Books on Ballooning and Other Reads
Hiking the Colorado Summits, A Guide to Exploring the County High Points by John Drew Mitchler. We recently had the opportunity of flying this local Colorado author.
Those Guys Drove Us Crazy by JoAn Flower. Another local Colorado author we had the pleasure of flying. This book details the first four years of the Colorado Rockies.
Other Good Reads
A Balloon for Blunderbuss. This lovingly restored 1960s children’s classic takes design lovers of all ages on a fantastic journey via an imaginative and entertaining series of trades and swaps. The trades start small, with a tiny butterfly, and end up including absolutely everything in the world, from straw hats to the stars in the sky.
The Twenty-One Balloons. Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions. Winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal, this classic fantasy-adventure is now available in a handsome new edition.
Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1 (Aircraft of the Aces). Tethered balloons reached their zenith as a means of providing a stationary observation platform above the battlefield during World War I. It took a special breed of daredevil to take on such odds deep in enemy lines in order to destroy a balloon.
The Balloon Boy of San Francisco. A young, news boy in 1853 San Francisco who gets to take a balloon ride.
The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space — by Craig Ryan. Published by the Naval Institute Press, the folks that first published Tom Clancy. Booklist called it, “an absolute feast of information.”
The Amazing Air Balloon — by Jean Van Leeuwen, Marco Ventura (Illustrator). By the award winning children’s author, this is the story of the first American balloon flight, which was made by a 13 year old boy named Edward Warren.
Around the World in 20 Days — by Bertrand Piccard, Brian Jones. The true story of the first successful flight around the world in a balloon, written by the two men who acheived the “impossible.”
Where’s the Runway?and Other Flying Stories : Adventures of a General Aviation Airplane and Hot Air Balloon Pilot — by Herb Tabak, Rebecca Stapay (Editor).
Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon — Margret Rey, H. A. Rey (Illustrator); Paperback
Ballooning (First Book) Phyllis J. Perry / School & Library Binding / Published 1996
Flying in a Hot Air Balloon Cheryl Walsh Bellville / Library Binding / Published 1993
Balloons Building and Experimenting With Inflatable Toys Bernie Zubrowski, Roy Doty (Illustrator) / Library Binding / Published 1990
Hot-Air Henry Mary Calhoun, et al / Paperback / Published 1984
The Joy of Ballooning George Denniston / Hardcover / Published 1999
The Story of Flight : Early Flying Machines, Balloons, Blimps, Gliders, Warplanes, and Jets (Voyages of Discovery) Dan Hagedorn(Editor), Sheila Keenan (Editor) / Hardcover / Published 1995
Ships of the Air Lynn Curlee / School & Library Binding / Published 1996
<Early Flight : From Balloons to Biplanes Hardcover / Published 1988
Flying for Fun and Profit : Airplanes, Gliders, Ultralights, Balloons, Etc. Paperback / Published 2000
Great Balloon Festival : A Season of Hot Air Balloon Meets Across North America Joe Nigg / Hardcover / Published 1989
Hot Air Ballooning Iggulden / Hardcover / Published 1991
The Mystery of the Hot Air Balloon Gertrude Chandler Warner / Turtleback / Published 1995
Race to the Stratosphere : Manned Scientific Ballooning in America David H. Devorkin / Hardcover / Published 1989
Roadside Geology of Colorado (Roadside Geology Series) — Halka Chronic; Paperback
DVD The Red Balloon (1955) — directed by Albert Lamorisse. This classic, Academy Award winning film is finally available on DVD.
Video Three Men And A Balloon. (Nova PBS Series 1996). (Richard Branson, upstart head of Virgin Atlantic Airways), a Swedish balloon designer (Per Lindstrand), and a British skydiving champion (Rory McCarthy), in a hair-raising race against hot competition to build a balloon that can circle the globe.
Toy Smithsonian Adventures Hot Air Balloon. Now you can build and fly a 5-foot model of the Montgolfier balloon with the Smithsonian Adventures Hot Air Balloon.