A. M. Low (1888–1956)

Written in 1937 Adrift in the Stratosphere is very much a book of its era.

I read an undated Blackie & Son edition released with uniform volumes in The Meteor Library, circa 1950 it would appear.

Whilst the book is from the genre of 'boys books', the young adult books of the era, it nonetheless is a enjoyable book - a quirky tale of futurism and space adventure at a time when space was still largely a mystery and colour television hadn't even been invented yet. From this standpoint, it's an interesting tale even if some of the themes are now outdated and rendered 'silly' by our scientific understanding. The idea of Mars being populated by a hostile yet pompous civilisation was certainly amusing.

If you enjoy classic science fiction and come across it, it may be worth a look as an early example of developing themes in the genre.… (altro)

This book is well written. And would make a good text book on armaments, though it is out of date. Low starts with a chapter on the Nature of War. He then goes into armaments of his time. From the great war, World War I, through the time of publication 1939.

This book covers Explosives, small-arms, artillery, tanks, battleships, submarines, mines, torpedos, aircraft and chemical warfair. He also talks about the imporatnce of concrete, optics, acoustics, camoflage, paracutes and the wirless. Even if you knew nothing about the basic of balistics, this book will explain it to you.

In 1939 in his conclusion, he even predicts that man will go to the moon. And that there will always be a war some where. And correctly relates the quicken speed of research and implementation of technology because of war. He also goes into what may be used as armamnets in the future.… (altro)