My Airships [Paperback]

Alberto Santos-Dumont (Author), Adam Starchild (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2002

Brazilian born, French educated, Alberto Santos-Dumont was probably one of only a few aviation pioneers who could claim significant accomplishments in both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air flying machines. He was the first man to succeed, not once but time after time, in leaving the ground, flying through the air to a place of his own choosing, and landing safely. Around the turn of the century he was the most prominent of all the early aviators, and his balloons, dirigibles and (later in his career) heavier-than-air craft were frequently to be seen in the air around his beloved city of Paris. His early experiments were in dirigible airships of his own design. After many failures, he built a dirigible that in 1901 won the Deutsch Prize, as well as a prize from the Brazilian government, for being the first to fly in a given time from Saint-Cloud to the Eiffel Tower and return. He wrote My Airships when he was 30 years old, in 1904. In it he tells of his childhood in Brazil, his early fascination with machinery and passion for the novels of Jules Verne, his early success in France as an enthusiastic automobilist, his first balloon ascent in 1893, his famous balloon Brazil, and the joys and trials of his first ten dirigibles (1898-1904). Referring to himself as "inventor, patron, manufacturer, amateur, mechanician and airship captain all united," he describes numerous hair-raising scrapes with death while navigating the air. Santos' reputation as an airplane designer was solidified by a machine he produced in 1909. The famous "Demoiselle" or "Grasshopper" monoplane, was the forerunner of the modern light plane. Santos eventually returned to Brazil where, depressed over the use of aircraft in war, he committed suicide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: University Press of the Pacific (December 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898752450
• ISBN-13: 978-0898752458
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,709,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forgotten aviation pioneer, February 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: My Airships (Paperback)

Although the achievements of Santos-Dumont (1873-1932) are not widely appreciated today, a ring of familiarity still clings to his name from the days when he was one of the most famous men in the world. Probably more flamboyant than any other figure in the history of aviation, he was the first man to succeed, not once but time after time, in leaving the ground, flying through the air to a place of his own choosing, and landing safely. Around the turn of the century he was the most prominent of all the early aviators, and his balloons, dirigibles and (later in his career) heavier-than-air craft were frequently to be seen in the air around his beloved city of Paris.

At the height of his first fame and triumphs, when he was 30 years old, Santos-Dumont dashed off an intriguing and delightful book about himself and his work, Dans l'Air (immediately translated as My Airships), published in 1904. In it he tells of his childhood in Brazil, his early fascination with machinery and passion for the novels of Jules Verne, his early success in France as an enthusiastic automobilist, his first balloon ascent in 1893, his famous balloon Brazil, and the joys and trials of his first ten dirigibles (1898-1904). Referring to himself as "inventor, patron, manufacturer, amateur, mechanician and airship captain all united," his egocentric but nonetheless admirable personality imbues the whole account with grace, whether he is praising the joys of lunching in a spherical balloon or describing one of his numerous hair-raising scrapes with death while navigating the air.

Today, this book appeals to us as a delightful evocation of the age he lived in, with all the romance of early aeronautics. Prize competitions, brief touch-downs at a café for refreshments, and the near-slapstick crash landings that somehow can't be taken seriously are only a few of the exciting elements of Santos-Dumont's account. Information on early aviation, excitement, evocation of the turn of the century, and lively, passionate writing on a fascinating subject; and all of these will captivate and enthrall any reader in the pages of this extraordinary book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at the time and the creative process, March 21, 2007

By 

L. Duckett - See all my reviews
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This review is from: My Airships (Paperback)

I read this book in one go as I travelled across the country on an airliner. What a contrast! If you love airships, the world of aviation or are, as I am, a basement inventor, you will enjoy this book.