Everybody needs a hobby...

Not our usual stock but there was something beyond how to build little boats in these old magazines.

While the Woodworker is not special or unusual as far as war time hobbyist publications go, it has some very interesting advertisements that give a good insight into the time.

Adrift in the Stratosphere

We recently found a small nothing that turned out to be a very interesting something after a little research. Adrift in the Stratosphere by Archibald Montgomery Low, inventor, brief media celebrity, almost the creator of the television, the video phone and the first unmanned radio controlled plane.

Called 'The Father of Radio Guidance', A M Low has a chequered history. He pioneered many areas in physics and engineering but his lack of focus meant that he rarely finished a project, his contemporaries disliking him for his use of the title 'Professor' (without a academic post) and his love of publicity. He is responsible for one of the earliest forms of television (the TeleVista), before his work was interrupted by WWI and he joined the Royal Flying Corps where his designs led to numerous breakthroughs. During various down periods he tried to create works to introduce the laymen and the younger generations to the world of scientific discovery.

Which brings us neatly back round to the reason for this post, Adrift in the Stratosphere is one of only four fictions that Low wrote, all intended for a much younger audience. Adrift' is a story of aliens from Mars, interstellar flight, fantastical technology based on Low's own belief on the future of technology.