In 1897, three adventurers gathered to do what others had tried and failed at: navigate their balloon -- The Prinzess -- to the North Pole and return. As they voyaged, the narrator, Major Gustav Crispin, was haunted by thoughts of the beautiful, impetuous Luisa. Balloonist is a deliciously entertaining mix of adventure, sexual intrigue, philosophy, and science. MacDonald Harris based his story on an actual attempt by three Swedish explorers to reach the pole by balloon in 1897. The Balloonist was written and published to great acclaim in the 1970s, earning the spot of runner-up in the National Book Award fiction prize. Then, in the 1980s, the book disappeared into obscurity and remained there until Philip Pullman sang its praises in The Observer in 2008.

Product Description: A hot-air-balloon race with her daredevil boss!What if...a conservative young woman is offered the challenge of a lifetime? What if...she's paired with thrill-seeking sportsman Rafael Sandoval in a hot-air-balloon race with a fifty-thousand-dollar prize? What if...read more

Presents a fictionalized account of Ready Gates, a San Francisco newsboy who had an adventure riding in a hot air balloon for fifty miles.

The upcoming Lift Challenge, organized by the International Ballooning Club, is overshadowed by a dangerous extortionist who demands $100,000 in exchange for his not causing a terrible accident. Original.