McCarry, Charles
First Edition. Signed by all three pilots !
Double Eagle is the riveting, true account of the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean by men in a balloon — by all reckonings one of the most extraordinary human adventures of all time. The 1978 voyage by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, three self-made businessmen from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a tale of supreme courage, endurance, ingenuity, and the all-powerful drive for glory. One of the world's most
dangerous physical challenges, the transatlantic balloon voyage was a goal that defied success — all sixteen previous attempts had failed, with five lives lost. No one who had once attempted the flight had ever wanted to
try again.
In Double Eagle (the huge, helium craft was named Double Eagle after Charles Lindbergh, the Lone Eagle) Charles McCarry and "the ballonists chronicle the initial attempt made by Abruzzo and Anderson in 1977, which ended in bitter failure, and the second, triumphant voyage in Double Eagle
II a year later. McCarry draws incisive portraits of the fascinating and complex heroes, revealing both the tensions they endured and the comradeship they shared in the tiny gondola that drifted thousands of feet above the surface of the earth. Here, too, are descriptions of the otherworldly beauty of the skies and of the strange and exhilarating sensations of balloon travel. Also detailed are the meticulous meteorological calculations, the technical wizardry, and the remarkable coordinating efforts of Double Eagle's ground crew, who advised the ballonists as they
struggled against storms and cold, and ballasted against deadly downdrafts.
On their first voyage, Abruzzo and Anderson were caught by storms and blown off course; with Abruzzo near death from exposure, they ditched three miles off the coast of Iceland. Undaunted, even more determined to be the first balloonists across the Atlantic, they tried again in 1978 with Newman. This time better prepared, the three men successfully rode a high pressure ridge from Presque Isle, Maine, to a barley field near Miserey, France, in six days. There they were mobbed by a throng of euphoric French and were catapulted into international fame.
Charles McCarry is the author of Citizen Nader, The Miernik Dossier, The Tears of Autumn, The Secret Lovers, and The Better Angels. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Hardcover with dust jacket
278 Seiten / pages
color photos
very good condition, signed by all three pilots, with a dedication to a former owner (on a page separate from the page with the pilots signatures)
Boston - Toronto - 1979 - Little, Brown and Company
Art.Nr. 5918
