Want some excitement? Get into hot air ballooning, 25 Nov 2006
Brockman describes how he became interested in ballooning, having graduated from hang gliding, then recounts a number of incidents from his 25 years experience. He describes his first solo flight, his balloonists' licence examination flight, and journeys and flights to ballooning jamborees at Reno and Albuquerque, with a humour that made me laugh aloud several times.

A number of incidents are related with an understatement that is typically British: landing a balloon is the trickiest bit, particularly 'when the ground below can't be seen' and driving his pickup truck, laden with propane gas canisters, through an electrical storm on the side of a mountain he thought was 'hair-raising'.

In one of his early learning flights, he recognised he was 'excess baggage' but 'even so', he wrote, 'excess baggage has feelings'.

His chapter on designing and building his balloon - that stood five storeys high - one winter, was particularly interesting.

This book is a must Christmas present for all balloonists, whether novices or master of the sport.