Favorite ballooning books & articles recommended by our club members

Gordon Schwontkowski and Alyson Murray. Hot Air Balloon Crewing Essentials
Schwontkowski, 2005.  Available from Gordon Schwontkowski, 82 Silver Tree Circle, Cary, IL 60013

Over 160 pages of knowledge, humor, and insight to help balloonists, both pilots and crew, take it to the next level in safety and efficiency.  A professional crew chief with over 25 years of experience, Gordon presents topics ranging from pre-flighting the chase vehicle, to reading weather signals, landowner relations, first aid, tethering, handling emergencies, and much, much more.  This is one book that belongs on every pilot and crew chief's bookshelf.

Linda Donn. The Little Balloonist
Dutton, 2006

"The Little Balloonist" is a fine example of fictionalized history.  Ms. Donn weaves her fiction around the history of Napoleonic France and early gas ballooning, creating a delightful story.  Her character of Sophie Armant Blanchard is one who makes the best of what life deals her.  She marries a man who flies gas balloons and after watching him fly, wants him to teach her.  She finds that she enjoys flying in the balloons more than her husband.  She ultimately meets Napoleon and helps create a tie between the gas balloon and wartime spying.  Of course, there is love and heartache along the way, but then the story is set in 19th century France.
- Ruthe Grote

Douglas Botting. Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine: The Historic Saga of the Around-the-World Zeppelin
Harper Collins, 2001

The history of the Zeppelins, their creators, and the dramatic 1929 round-the-world voyage of the Graf Zeppelin, piloted by Hugo Eckener.

Craig Ryan. Magnificient Failure: Free Fall From the Edge of Space
Smithsonian Books, 2003.

The story of Project Strato-Jump, Nick Pintanida's tragic 1966 quest to complete the world's highest free-fall from a statospheric balloon.

Charles M. Evans. War of the Aeronauts: A History of Ballooning in the Civil War
Stackpole Books, 2002

A fascinating history of the creation of the Balloon Corps of the Federal and Confederate Armies from 1861 to 1863.

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