Customer Reviews

My Airships

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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.

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.