A World of My Own.

KNOX-JOHNSTON, Robin.

Item Number: 114952

New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1969.

First edition of Robin Knox-Johnston’s classic account of the first single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. From the library of James Stephen “Steve” Fossett with his bookplate to the front pastedown. American businessman and record-setting aviator Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in 2002 in his 10-story high balloon Spirit of Freedom. He completed the 2002 trip in 13 days, 8 hours, and 33 minutes and set records for both the Longest Distance Flown Solo in a Balloon and Fastest Balloon Flight Around the World. Fosset was also one of sailing’s most prolific distance record holders set the Absolute World Speed Record for airships with a Zeppelin NT in 2004. He received numerous awards and honors throughout his career including aviation’s highest award, the Gold Medal of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which he was awarded in 2002. Fossett disappeared on September 3, 2007 while flying a light aircraft over the Great Basin Desert, between Nevada and California. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A very sharp example.

In 1969, British sailor Robert Know-Johnston became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe on his 32-foot Bermudan ketch Suhaili. Written from diaries and logbooks kept throughout the voyage, A World of My Own is a gripping, startling, and moving account of one of the greatest sea adventures of all time.