Reach For The Skies. Ballooning, Birdmen And Blasting Into Space

Cover Type: Softcover
Book Condition: Good
Jacket Condition: None Issued
Publisher: Virgin Books
Publisher Place: United Kingdom
Publisher Year: 2010
Edition: Reprint

Description: 343 pages. Book is in general good condition. There is some light reading wear present, but still a presentable copy. In The Last Two Hundred Years, They Have Mastered The Air And Made The Modern World Possible. In This Book I Look At The History Of Flight Through The Stories And People Who Have Inspired Me Throughout My Life. In These Pages You Will Find Acconts Of Miraculous Rescues; Of Records Made And Broken; Of Suprising Feats Of Endurance And Survival, Including Some Of My Own Adventures.

Publishers Description: As far back as stories go, pioneers have reached for the skies. In the last two hundred years, they have mastered the air and made the modern world possible. Today they are bringing outer space within our reach. Theyre inventors and toymakers, amateurs and adventurers, visionaries, dreamers and, yes, crackpots. Some have called them irresponsible, even dangerous. But I have met many of them. I have worked with them, and funded them, and flown with them. I admire them, and trust them, and I think they and their kind are our future. In this book I look at the history of flight through the stories and people who have inspired me throughout my life. In these pages you will find stories of miraculous rescues; of records made and broken; of surprising feats of endurance and survival, including some of my own adventures, as well as developments in the future of air (and space) travel. It is a story of pioneers, and of course it includes the world famous Montgolfiers and the Wright brothers, but I also want to describe some of the lesser-known trailblazers. People like Tony Jannus, who in 1914 created the first scheduled commercial flight in the world, flying his passengers over the waters of Tampa Bay at an altitude of just fifty feet! The ‘bird man Leo Valentin, who in the 1950s jumped from 9,000 feet with wooden wings attached to his shoulders. And my friend Steve Fossett, who dedicated his life to breaking records and having adventures. This is their story. It is also, in a small way, my own. About The Author Sir Richard Branson is a hugely successful international entrepreneur, adventurer and icon, and is chairman of the Virgin Group. His autobiography, Losing My Virginity, and his books on business, Screw It, Lets Do It and Business Stripped Bare, are all international bestsellers. He lives on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands and is married with two grown-up children.

ISBN: 9780753519868