I welcome the author
who is going to take us on a journey from North America to Ireland. And that journey is significant in that, here in the 21st century, we're living in the dreams of the man who took that journey once upon a time.The book is The Big Hop: The First Nonstop Flight Across the Atlantic Ocean and Into the Future.
We begin, however, with a man who doesn't fly but is responsible for this story and perhaps all of aviation, perhaps all of space. He popularized it. He was called formerly the Viscount Northcliffe. His real name was Alfred Harmsworth.
I believe he had a modest beginning and a modest early career. Who was he? Why is he important in 1913 to put up the prize? And what was the prize for?
Watch the full conversation above, or listen to an audio version below:
LINKS:
The Big Hop: The First Nonstop Flight Across the Atlantic Ocean and Into the Future by David Rooney
The John Batchelor Show on Apple Podcasts:
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