The Dream Machines : An eye - witness history of Ballooning

This magnificent book depicts the fantastic history of ballooning through drawings, engravings, paintings, photographs and picture photographs as well.

Aviation book
The Balloon first carried man into the skies and although progress in the form of aeroplanes and, indeed, space rockets, has now passed it by, it still retains a grip on most people's imagination and fires a passion among a substantial number of enthusiasts who again ride the heavens.
( ... ) The Dream Machines draws on material from the three nations most closely involved with the emergence and perfection of ballooning, France, Britain and America - but through the Editor's far - flung research ( many of the pictures and accounts herein are of considerable rarity and have not been generally available for many years ) we get glimpses, too, of what was happening elsewhere in the world. It is a story of progress and experiment, of drama, excitement, pathos and even death.

Peter Alexander Haining ( April 2nd, 1940 - November 19th, 2007 ) was born in Enfield ( Middlesex, England ). He began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library in 1963.
Peter A. Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full - time writer in the early 1970's. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non - fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names ’ Ric Alexander ’ and ’ Richard Peyton ’ on a number of crime story anthologies.
In the 1970's he wrote three novels, including The Hero ( 1973 ), which was optioned for filming. In two controversial books, Peter A. Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non - fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack. He wrote several reference books on the BBC TV programme Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who : A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space ( 1983 ), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes ( 1991 ) and several other television tie - ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot, Dr. Finlay and James Bond.
Peter A. Haining's most recent project was a series of Second World War stories based on extensive research and personal interviews : The Jail That Went To Sea ( 2003 ), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold ( 2004 ), Where The Eagle Landed ( 2004 ), The Chianti Raiders ( 2005 ) and The Banzai Hunters ( 2007 ). He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
Peter A. Haining died at the age of 67.
( source : Wikipedia )