May 1999
The readers ofBalloon Lifewill rec-
ognize the name of the author of this new
coffee table book on the sport of balloon-
ing. George has been a contributing editor
since the inceptionof the magazine. Ev-
erymonthhehaseditedthestoriesof
balloonadventuresfromwhichothers
might learn in our regular feature entilted
Hangar Flying.
WiththisbookGeorgesetsoutto
share withthe non-ballooningpublic the
joyofflyinginahotair balloon,andto
introducethemtothepleasuresofthe
ballooningscene,includingthe physical
thrillofthe ride,thecamaraderieof the
people,andthebeautyoftheballoons
themselves.Thebookpresentstherich
historyof ballooning, the race tocircum-
navigate the globe, international competi-
tive ballooning, andsimple explanations
of how balloonsfly.
Many of the photographs featured in
2000 Calendar
At the stroke of midnight on Decem-
ber 31 theworld will probably not come to
an end,no matterwhat the hucksters ofthe
world would like you to believe. But, just
incase, here is one item that might come
inhandy.Ballooning 2000 Calendarby
JaneEnglish,SherryLarson,andother
contributors will help you track your way
tothe beginning of the new millennium.
Thecalendaropenswithtwofull
pagesofinformationonevents, history,
andresources for ballooning. Eachpage
isa large 9 by12 inchspace with the top
page afullbleedpicture andthe bottom
page a handy date calendar to write down
your important stuff. Eachlower section
containsanothersmallerpictureandan
interesting piece of ballooninghistory—
oftenwith pithy quotes. Little anecdotes
that you won’t find in other places. There
are27ballooningpictures,mostlyfrom
the far west.
Theinspirationforthiscalendar’s
creation came from an informal group of
ballooning friends who set out to design a
calendar that is both beautiful and useful.
The ten people involved suppliedphoto-
tomecomefromanother
Balloon Life contributing editor
andp ho t og raph erR on
Behrmann. There are more than
100 stunning photographs.
GeorgeDennistonisali-
censedpilotandflightinstruc-
torwhohaspilotedballoons,
DC-3s,autogiros,gliders,and
the Goodyear blimp, aswell as
riding as an observerin the cock-
pitoftheConcorde.Besides
beingacontributingeditorto
Balloon Life, he is also a medi-
cal doctor and professor of fam-
ily medicine at the University of
Washington..
The Joy of Balloo ning: A Photo-
graphic Celebration(Courage Books, and
imprint of RunningPress) hardback, 160
pages, is available in better bookstores for
$19.98.Forvolumediscou ntscontact
800-345-5359. Add some income to your
business by selling this book to your cus-
tomers.
andproduced this first ballooning calen-
dar for the year 2000. In the introduction
theauthorsinviteyoutosubmityour
images andwritings for future calendars
in the series. Since this was primarily put
togetherbywestcoastballoonists,they
would like to expand the coverage across
the US andinternational.
Besidesputtingthecalendarupon
yourwallthesewouldmakeexcellent
landownergifts, or youcansellthemto
your passengers.
Retail price is $10.95 by callingVil-
lageBooks 1-800-344-0436 or order them
. For quantity discounts contact Christine
Kalakuka at Balloon Publishing Co, 1241
High St, Oakland, CA 94601, phone 510-
261-4222, or e-mail:balpub@vdn.com.
Ed Yost says, “The best ballooncal-
endar I’ve ever seen!”
