Although Orville and Wilber Wright are perhaps the most recognized names of the aviation pioneers, as least in the United States, an argument should also be made for the "aeronauts" — the bold adventurers who took to the air decades before the Wright Brothers and the development of the fixed-wing aircraft of the early 1900s. Balloons, both large and small, had captured the imaginations of people, young and old, throughout Europe and daring aeronauts had set many aviation firsts decades before anyone had heard of the Wright Brothers.

These aeronauts included Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier who, on October 15, 1783, became the first person to successfully accomplish the long-held dream of flying as he rose 250 feet above the ground in aboard a tethered balloon where he remained for the next 15 minutes. Jean-Pierre Blanchard became the first man to cross the English Channel by air (124 years before Louis Blériot accomplished a similar feat in an airplane). James Glaisher and his colleague Jacque Charles ascended in balloons for scientific research and their discoveries are still important today. The legendary Sophie Blanchard, the "Queen Of The Fireworks," earned a fortune as an aeronaut in her spectacular shows.

England and especially France were the leaders in developing the new technology of balloons but the United States had its own aeronauts, including Thaddeus Lowe, John Wise, and John LaMountain, who gained fame in the U.S. Civil War as both sides discovered the versatility of balloons, especially in the reconnaissance role.

The history of balloons is captivating and compelling, but occasionally tragic as well. Aeronauts And Their Balloons recounts the history of ballooning since the first attempts of the legendary Montgolfier brothers and their experiments with a paper balloon in 1782 through to the final balloon experiments of the early 1900s. Aeronauts And Their Balloons follows the development and advances, as well as the failures and successes, men and women had with their balloons while at the same time providing insights into the aeronauts and others who developed the balloons, pursuing the interest they loved.