The Balloonist

THE BALLOONIST is an intense love story and a Jules Verne type science fiction adventure.  A Swedish scientist, an American journalist and a French speaking adventurer attempt to become the first to set foot on the North Pole, to arrive there and return borne on the wind by a huge red and white balloon. The book was a critical sensation on its publication in 1976, and runner up for the National Book Awards in 1977.  


THE BALLOONIST sold extremely well on both sides of the Atlantic.  It has been translated into six languages, and is the springboard for another 11 books.  By the end of the 1980’s it had disappeared from view. Which is where it might have stayed, but in 2006 Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy, explained how MacDonald’s work, and THE BALLOONIST in particular, was an inspiration in his early career.  He bemoaned the fact that the author was now unknown.


Galileo is therefore delighted to make this book available again to a generation who has loved The Amber Spyglass and its sequels.