In the 21st century - the age of the budget airline - where quick and reliable air travel is available to a large segment of society, it seems hard to comprehend that it is less than 250 years since the first human took to the skies. Although the wing of the bird seemed like the most obvious natural mechanism to attempt replicate, it was actually contained hot air, as demonstrated by the Montgolfiers and their balloon, that gave birth to the era human aviation. Since the first manned balloon flight in 1783, developments have come thick and fast, the airship, the aeroplane, and finally the space shuttle. This reprint of a classic publication by Henri Lachambre and Alexis Machuron tells the story of S. A. Andrée's 1897 attempt to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon. Complete with illustrations and a brand new introduction this work is a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the fantastic and majestic lighter-than-air period of aeronautical history.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Documents the dramatic 1897 flight of a visionary Swedish explorer who attempted to discover the North Pole in a hydrogen balloon, describing the formidable environmental conditions that challenged his efforts.

Excerpt from Andree's Balloon Expedition in Search of the North Pole In the afternoon of Sunday, the 11th of July, 1897, the balloon "Ornen" left the port of Virgo, Spitzbergen, carrying in its car Messrs. Andree, Strindberg and Fraenkel, the bold explorers, starting for the conquest of the North Pole. All the papers of the day were immediately full of discussions in various strains - pessimistic or favourable comments and prognostications, articles full of hope or criticism, each, in short, looking upon this extraordinary expedition from his own point of view. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

ABOUT THE BOOK “Except for the bottom of the sea or the center of the earth, the North Pole, at the end of the nineteenth century, was the world's last mysterious destination.” The Ice Balloon: S.A. Andrée and the Heroic Age of Arctic Exploration retells the attempt by Swedish explorer S.A. Andrée to reach the north pole by hydrogen balloon. Writer Alec Wilkinson recounts the whole story of Andrée’s venture from its first conception to the final recovery of its lost artifacts, and intersperses his tale with other events in the history of Arctic exploration. Wilkinson draws on previous accounts of Arctic exploration as well as original documents from various expeditions to reconstruct an era of scientific discovery. The book includes photographs taken by contemporaries of Andrée, including some that were shot on Andrée’s expedition and lost for decades when the undeveloped film was frozen in the ice along with the members of the party. MEET THE AUTHOR Nicole has been writing since she could make letters with a pencil, and has been making a living at it for more than ten years. She has gone back to school too many times, studying archaeology, folklore, writing and visual art. She writes fiction under several pen names, and also does printmaking, book arts, and photography. Nicole is an avid amateur natural historian with a particular fascination for things that fly, whether it's birds, bats or insects. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK In 1893, a Norwegian named Fridtjof Nansen set off to strand his purpose-built ship, the Fram, in the Arctic ice with the hope it could drift to the north pole along with the ice. There were thirteen men on the crew, who lived in relative comfort compared to other Arctic explorers. Nansen had planned carefully and the Fram was well-insulated and warm. He was not content to simply wait and set off with another crew member to attempt to reach the pole by dogsled. But his haste proved to work against him as they had to turn back. It was not until 1896 that they encountered other explorers, and were able to make their way back to their ship. This was the same time at which Andrée was planning his first attempt to launch his balloon. In the summer of 1896 Andrée and his two crew members, meteorologist Nils Eckholm and photographer Nils Strindberg, along with a large crew of people to help build a temporary balloon shed and prepare for the journey, arrived in Spitsbergen. By the end of the summer the attempt was abandoned due to a lack of favorable winds for the balloon. Buy a copy to keep reading!