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Book of the Week

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Serialised book readings, featuring works from various genres

Serialised book readings, featuring works of non-fiction, biography, autobiography, travel, diaries, essays, humour and history

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Book of the Week: Richard Holmes - Falling Upwards

Richard Holmes

Jill Waters

Rory Kinnear

Book of the Week: Richard Holmes - Falling Upwards: Episode 2

Factual: History

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Falling Upwards

Episode 2

Richard Holmes - Falling Upwards

BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week, Richard Holmes - Falling Upwards, Episode 2

Why the military, rather than scientists, saw the opportunities offered by flight.

Early scientists were sceptical about the new opportunities offered by flight, unlike the military. Read by Rory Kinnear. From May 2013.

In this heart-lifting book, the Romantic biographer Richard Holmes floats across the world following the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, from the first heroic experiments of the 1780s to the tragic attempt to fly a balloon to the North Pole in the 1890s.

In a compelling adventure story, dramatic sequences include an unscheduled early flight over the North Sea, the crazy firework flights of beautiful Sophie Blanchard and the heart-stopping escape of two families from East Germany.

Early balloons also played a role in warfare - with the legendary tale of sixty balloons that escaped Paris during the Prussian siege of 1870, and a memorable flight by General Custer in the American Civil War.

These are stories where scientific genius combines with extraordinary courage and the power of an imagination that dares to claim the airy kingdom for itself.


Episode 2 (of 5):
What earthly use is a balloon? Early scientists struggled to grasp the opportunities offered by flight but, in turbulent times, the military were quick to make the most of aerial reconnaissance.



Read by Rory Kinnear
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

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By Richard Holmes. Stories of the first balloon aeronauts. Read by Rory Kinnear

By Richard Holmes. Stories of the first balloon aeronauts and mankind's timeless yearning to be airborne. Abridged by Jill Waters. Read by Rory Kinnear

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