More than a century before the Wright brothers’ first flight, humans were taking to the skies in hot air balloons. Today, with basic craft skills, you can build and safely launch your own balloons using inexpensive, readily available materials. Author and inventor Clive Catterall provides illustrated, step-by-step instructions for eight different homemade models, as well as the science and history behind them. Some, like the Solar Tetroon or the Trash Bag Sausage, are made from plastic bags and tape. Others, like the Khom Loi or the Kongming Lantern, are built using tissue paper and wire. The Hot Air Balloon Book also shows readers ways to heat the interior air that lifts these balloons, from tea candles to hair dryers, kitchen toasters to the sun’s warming rays. Always keeping safety in mind, the author includes detailed guidelines on when and where open flames are appropriate and the proper weather conditions to launch these lighter-than-air craft.

Now in paperback: For decades the world has credited renowned explorer Sir Edmund Hillary with being the first person to reach the peak of Mount Everest. But was he? Evidence to the contrary arrives one day on the doorstep of Chris Elliott--an anonymous package that contains the diary of his Great Uncle Percy Brackett Elliott, an adventurer (and raving loony) who mysteriously disappeared decades ago while climbing Everest. The diary seems to indicate that Percy--not Hillary--was the first person to reach the peak. By retracing Percy's journey, Chris believes he will be able to uncover the mystery behind his disappearance and perhaps once and for all determine who was really the first person to summit Everest.

Hot air balloons are huge and colorful. They're lots of fun to watch. But how do they fly? And how do people control where the hot air balloon goes? Read this book to find out!

From that famous day in June 1783 when the Montgolfier brothers launched their first balloon over Paris until the present, people have continued to marvel at the grace and ease with which man can ascend aloft and float through the sky. In addition to a history of early balloon flight, the book describes how balloons are made, how they fly, and what it takes to become a qualified pilot. It discuses as well the record breakers, competition flying, and the weird and wonderful balloon shapes that appear whenever balloon enthusiasts gather together. Lavishly illustrated with over 90 full-color photographs, this volume is a tribute to all balloonists past and present.

*** SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2022*** ***SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL CHRISTOPHER BLAND PRIZE 2022*** Ours is the age of global warming. Rising sea levels, extreme weather, forest fires. Dire warnings are everywhere, so why has it taken so long for the crisis to be recognised? Here, for the first time, climate scientist Peter Stott reveals the bitter fight to get international recognition for what, among scientists, has been known for decades: human activity causes climate change. Across continents and against the efforts of sceptical governments, prominent climate change deniers and shadowy lobbyists, Hot Air is the urgent story of how the science was developed, how it has been repeatedly sabotaged and why humanity hasn't a second to spare in the fight to halt climate change.

The author describes her experiences with hot air ballooning as passenger and ground-crew member and depicts the sport from flight preparation to dismantling.