Balloonomania Belles

By Sharon Wright,

Book cover of Balloonomania Belles: Daredevil Divas Who First Took to the Sky

Book description

_Balloonomania Belles_ reveals the astonishing stories of the fabulous female pioneers of balloon flight. More than a century before the first aeroplane women were heading for the heavens in crazy, inspired contraptions that could bring death or glory and all too often, both. Award-winning journalist Sharon Wright reveals their hair-raising…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Balloonomania Belles as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Also a bit gossipy or wink-wink in tone, Wright’s feminist take on early flight is good fun. She narrates the hair-raising adventures of female pioneers of balloon flight—from feisty French teenager Elisabeth Thible, the first woman in the air, to charismatic British actress Leticia Ann Sage, whom one newspaper credited with “that manly fortitude which constitutes the heroine.” Wright presents a memorable cast of women who were all willing and well able—whether for a day or for decades—to brave life in the upper stories. She narrates, too, how they did it despite danger and scandal, at a time when women…

From Deborah's list on being lighter than air and above it all.

If you love Balloonomania Belles...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Want books like Balloonomania Belles?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 16 books like Balloonomania Belles.

Browse books like Balloonomania Belles

Book cover of Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air
Book cover of The Romance of Ballooning: The Story of the Early Aeronauts
Book cover of Wonderful Balloon Ascents, or the Conquest of the Skies: A History of Balloons and Balloon Voyages

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,770

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Balloonomania Belles, you might also like...

Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink by Ethan Chorin,

Book cover of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of…

Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS by Amy Carney,

Book cover of Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS

When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in hot air balloons, France, and Europe?

Hot Air Balloons 11 books
France 953 books
Europe 960 books