**Kirkus Best Books of the Year (2013)** **Time Magazine 10 Top Nonfiction Books of 2013** **The New Republic Best Books of 2013** In this heart-lifting chronicle, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling The Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet is a compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell. His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon rivalries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at least sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped from Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-71; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose) seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work. A seamless fusion of history, art, science, biography, and the metaphysics of flights, Falling Upwards explores the interplay between technology and imagination. And through the strange allure of these great balloonists, it offers a masterly portrait of human endeavor, recklessness, and vision. (With 24 pages of color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors... Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity. Within their halls, the ruling aristocratic houses develop scientific marvels, foster trade alliances, and maintain fleets of airships to keep the peace. Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is damaged in combat, Grimm joins a team of Albion agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring his ship. And as Grimm undertakes this task, he learns that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake...

An account of ballooning from the late 18th century to the present.

An American soldier in WWI France flies a jetpack over no man’s land in this steampunk historical adventure of action, espionage, and romance. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Europe is in the grip of bitter and bloody war. Computational machinery has allowed great technological leaps on both sides—making trench warfare even deadlier for soldiers at the front. Some men fight to defend their homeland. But Robert Preston flees America and joins the French Army to escape heartbreak. Placed in the elite 5th Aeronautic Corps, he learns to use high-tech jetpacks to leap over trenches—and the deadly no man’s land between them. It’s a dangerous job with a low survival rate, but Preston is determined to make a difference. There, he meets a man he calls his best friend, and a woman he believes is the love of his life. But a top-secret mission behind enemy lines, and a heart full of jealousy, threatens to tear the three of them apart forever.

The Union Army Balloon Corps holds a significant place in the annals of Civil War and military history. From 1861 to 1863 the corps contributed invaluable surveillance and reconnaissance information to the Union Army's war effort during the Virginia campaign. It also accomplished such significant military feats as the initial air-to-ground communication by telegraph, the first use of the "aircraft carrier" for launch of the balloon, and the first artillery barrage directed by an aerial observer where gun batteries were unable to see their targets from the ground. This book traces the history of the intrepid airborne force, from its creation by pioneer balloonist Thaddeus Lowe to its unceremonious disbanding in 1863.

This research paper focuses on establishing that the movie in focus is not just a biographic portrayal of one event but an ‘amalgam of many different sites and many different voyages’. The movie itself is a pictorial genius, a harrowing and exciting show at the natural exquisiteness of the upper layers of the atmosphere that surrounds us. Nonetheless not deprived of its oddities, The Aeronauts is also a film that traces the miracles of human investigation and competences, even if it does expanse the reality in doing so. With that in mind, here's how much of the movie is actually true. About the author Sukanya Basu Mallik is a multi-genre author, film and book critic. Her works have been published in various journals, magazines, and anthologies nationally and internationally including Reader’s Digest,Times Of India,Sahitya Akademi Bimonthly Journal, Lucidity Int.Poetry Journal, SEAL (South East Asian Literature) festival anthologies and AIPF Int. Anthology (Austin International Poetry Festival). She has also received a number of awards; The Best Manuscript Awards for fiction & non-fiction categories (Mumbai Litofest, Literature Festival 2018)etc. Her short story ‘Healing of wounds’ has been awarded a certificate of merit by National Children’s Literature Festival led by eminent author, Ruskin Bond. Her latest releases include Mocktail and#Metoo. Her movie reviews have been published in various newspapers and journals of repute like 'Just film' magazine, Different truths,'Creation and Criticism' ISSN: 2455-9687(A Quarterly International Peer-reviewed Refereed e-Journal Devoted to English Language and Literature) and many more. Her research paper 'Voicing of perspective through creativity – an in-depth analysis of Devika Das’s works'. has been published by 'The Expression: An International Multidisciplinary e-Journal', ISSN: 2395-4132 (Online)| A Peer-Reviewed Journal | Impact Factor: 3.9. She's the only undergraduate student to be considered for a research paper publication by the journal so far. To learn more visit sukanyabasumallik.com