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I have just read a book so good that I have to recommend it to anyone interested in aviation.

The book is “The Pre-Astronauts,” by Craig Ryan (ISBN #1-59114, published by Bluejacket Books in 1995—get it at any bookstore or amazon.com). It’s the story of those who used balloons to put man in the stratosphere, thus providing much information of importance for our astronauts to this day.

But it’s so much more than that.

The book looks at the long history of balloons, parachutes, and the heroes who led the way in both. Study it as a reference book or read it as a novel (but always remember it is true). Read it as a storybook of great heroes of great courage of both genders. Read it just for the pure excitement of it, but read it.

Many of you old timers will, as I did, think you remember and are already familiar with these stories and histories. We remember those days and feats from the media of those times, but there are more feats and stories than you can possibly imagine.

These people went up more than 100,000 feet. At the time, nobody knew if man could survive such activities. It also includes a flight by one of my heroes, Joe Kittinger, in an open gondola to more than 102,000 feetm at which altitude he jumped from that gondola to parachute back to earth. Many of us remember that ascent and the jump because of a beautiful Life magazine issue showing Kittinger up close, just as he leaps from the gondola. That remains to this day an awesome photo, and many of the records set that day still stand.

Get this book. You’ll like it.

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