R. M. Ballantyne 
Up in the Clouds 

Celebrations. Transport. Science lessons. Today, balloons are a casual part of everyday life, noticed but not really considered. Can you imagine a world in which balloons are the newest, most exciting development in technology? RM Ballantyne explores the earliest attempts to fly using balloons in his short story 'Up in the Clouds’, and his lively prose makes this adventure just as exciting to read as it would be to experience. –