Around the World in 20 Days; The Story of Our History-Making Balloon Flight

New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1999. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/very good. Paul A. Duffy (Map Illustrations). 25 cm. viii, [2], 306 pages. Illustrations (some color). Maps. Appendix on Round-the-World Attempts. Technical terms. Signed by both authors on title pages (each under their printed names). DJ has slight wear and soiling and is price clipped. Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, the pilots of the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon, tell the remarkable story of their record-breaking, first-ever around the world balloon flight in March 1999. Bertrand Piccard was a medical doctor specializing in psychiatry. He came from an explorer family; his grandfather was the first man to reach the stratosphere in a balloon. His father set depth records in a bathyscaphe. Brian Jones was a veteran of the Royal Air Force and became the United Kingdom's chief flying instructor. The two pilots of Breitling Orbiter 3 tell the remarkable story of their record-breaking, first-ever around-the-world balloon flight in March 1999. It is a tale of both technology and human endurance. During their 30,000-mile voyage, they survived many crises: for two days they were without all communications, at another point their heating failed and water froze inside their gondola. Their decision to take the southern route for their six and a half-day travel across the Pacific took tremendous courage as there was little chance of rescue if their balloon failed over that water. Using their logbooks, journals, photographs, and their memories they bring their marathon flight to life, capturing many moments of high tension, as well as the uplifting human and camaraderie, both between the pilots and with their ground crew. Their account tell the story of a great adventure and shows how two very different individuals forged a unique relationship in the most challenging circumstances of their lives.