"This first full-scale biography of Thaddeus Lowe (1832−1913) makes fascinating reading for aviation buffs and students of nineteenth-century eccentricity. Lowe is best known for organizing the Civil War Army of the Potomac's Balloon Corps, though it was disbanded because of losing high-ranking support, bureaucratic infighting, and, to some extent, the technological maturity of balloons. Lowe was a stage magician before the war and after it worked seriously in such fields as mountain railroading and the extraction of hydrogen from water. His career suggests a failed Thomas Edison. Endlessly fertile in invention, he lacked an organization to support the development of his ideas and winnow the viable ones from the rest. He never abandoned balloons, however, and left a definite legacy in the person of his granddaughter, aviatrix Pancho Barnes."—Booklist

"A detailed, informative picture of the life of [Lowe]. . . . Poleskie writes in an engaging, fascinating style and does an excellent job of telling the story and thoroughly discussing the 'most shot-at man of the Civil War' . . . The book is well researched and very detailed. . . . Recommended."—Choice

"Every balloonist knows the name of Thaddeus Lowe. After reading Steve Poleskie's The Balloonist, you'll know him more intimately than ever. Part Thomas Edison, part P. T. Barnum, T. S. C. Lowe's life unfolds in these pages like never before in a unique book that is both biography and historical novel."—Ballooning