It is October, 1863. The Union is hard pressed by the Confederacy.
In Europe, however, there is peace at hand. Such peace that a man named Nadar—that's a nom de guerre—climbs into a 196 ft tall, giant balloon with his wife Ernestine and guests in a basket that is built for pleasure.
They're having breakfast, coffee and croissant, sailing over France, and then there's trouble.
Why are they in the balloon? Who is Nadar?
I welcome Anika Burgess, the author of the new book Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography and How It Transformed Art, Science, and History.
Who is Nadar? What is he trying to achieve by sailing over France and getting into trouble?
Watch the full conversation above, or listen to an audio version below:
LINKS:
Flashes of Brilliance by Anika Burgess on Amazon
The John Batchelor Show on Apple Podcasts:
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