{"product_id":"falling-upwards-how-we-took-to-the-air-9780307742322","title":"Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air","description":"\u003cb\u003e**\u003ci\u003eTime Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e 10 Top Nonfiction Books of 2013**\u003cbr\u003e**\u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e Best Books of 2013**\u003cbr\u003e**\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e Best Books of the Year (2013)**\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a dazzling fusion of history, art, science, and biography, \u003ci\u003eFalling Upwards \u003c\/i\u003eresurrects the daring men and women who first risked their lives to take to the air in balloons. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRichard Holmes\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003egives us another of his unforgettable portraits of human endeavor, recklessness, and vision, weaving together exhilarating accounts of early balloon rivalries, pioneering ascents over Victorian cities, and astonishing long-distance voyages. The terrifying high-altitude flights of James Glaisher helped to establish the science of meteorology as well as the notion of a fragile planet, while balloons were also used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the American Civil War. Here too are the many writers--Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, and more--who felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work. Holmes tells the history of ballooning from every angle--scientific to poetic--through the adventurers and entrepreneurs, scientists and escapists, heroes and fools who were possessed by the longing to be airborne. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e(With 24 pages of color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Knopf Publishing Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/09\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780307742322\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 448\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/05\/2014 pg. 69\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/05\/2014 pg. 28\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Richard Holmes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44337765122229,"sku":"9780307742322","price":18.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_dfe3a8c8-a2fc-4a03-9951-8b0f87bba087.jpg?v=1719329155","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/falling-upwards-how-we-took-to-the-air-9780307742322","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}