Compiled with contributions from the army's school of ballooning at Aldershot in 1896, this concise but fact-packed manual is both a history of the military use of the balloon down to the end of the 19th century, and a technical 'how to' instruction manual. Illustrated with many diagrams, the book covers such subjects as manufacturing gas for balloons, observing and photographing from balloons, and how to operate free and captive balloons.