« Between the Earth and the Sky, doubt and the unknown are twin allies in the search for the Essential »

Reflexion

Changer d’altitude

Caught up in the turmoil of life, we are all seeking a pathway to success, equilibrium, happiness, wisdom. But are we developing the right tools to achieve these? Bertrand Piccard combines his experience as an explorer and psychiatrist specializing in hypnosis to offer us some original, sometimes disconcerting, solutions for practical use. In this book, which is accessible to everyone, he adopts a curious and questioning approach to tackle themes such as fear of the unknown, existential crises, human relations and spirituality in a concrete way. How can we use doubt and a questioning mindset to stimulate our performance, discover the benefits of hypnosis, take advantage of ordeals, overcome suffering, and expand our understanding of existence?

« During the Solar Impulse project, I was very involved in all the action”, explained Bertrand Piccard. «I felt the need to get back into thinking-mode. I've always wanted to understand how human beings work, what makes them happy or unhappy, what makes them succeed or fail in their dreams. The most difficult thing that remains to be explored today is without doubt the way humans function.»

Adventure

Objectif Soleil

The Solar Impulse adventure

When they talked about their project, we all thought they were crazy, and yet they achieved the impossible: the first around-the-world trip in a solar airplane - 43,000 km without using any fuel. In thirteen years of hopes and doubts, successes and setbacks, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg never stopped believing in the power of their dream. This book is their story, an ode to the pioneering spirit. The fate of two very different men, their friendship and their rivalry. Solar energy carried them along. The reader will be carried away by the emotion of this epic voyage in the service of a better quality of life on our planet.

« The message we want to share is that the concept “impossible” exists only in the minds of those who cannot imagine a future that’s different from their present. What we tried to do was to invent the future. By dint of passion, perseverance, resilience and a sense of wonder, we put together a unique life experience, for ourselves and our team. Now it's up to everyone else to take over, and with the spirit of the pioneers follow their dreams and invent their destiny. »

Adventure

Le tour du monde en 20 jours

Following in the footsteps of Jules Verne - an extraordinary adventure, a childhood dream come true. Through the words of both protagonists, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, the reader is immersed in the suspense and emotions they experienced, together with their team, during the extraordinary around-the-world voyage of the Breitling Orbiter 3. Far more than just a logbook, this product of their experience is not just a book about a fascinating, extreme adventure, but also a reflection on the world that they flew over.

60 photos and several illustrations.

Journey

Une Trace dans le ciel

Whether as a child dreaming of space-flight while rubbing shoulders with the astronauts at Cape Kennedy, or as the initiator of the first around-the-world balloon flight and the Solar Impulse project, Bertrand Piccard has always combined science and adventure to explore the human soul.
In his pursuit of this trace in the sky, he became first a psychiatrist, then a hypnotherapist, and turned to the search for what gives meaning to life. Combining a story with personal experience and reflections, this book throws light on the questions and ideas that made this "inspioneer" one of the most sought-after speakers in the world.
Conscious that his readers are not themselves preparing for a balloon flight, but seeking through his quest to find inspiration for their own personal and professional lives, he uses his exploits in the air to develop his concept of a philosophy of life, human behavior, and how to manage stress and crises

« Reading his book and browsing through the photos of his expedition, I have discovered much more than a daring exploit - a philosophy. That is what I invite you to discover in this book. Fair winds, Bertrand! » (Preface by Patrick Poivre d’Arvor)

Adventure

SolarImpulse

Round-the-world Countdown

Is it utopian to want to push back the frontier of what’s achievable, when everything seems already to have been invented? Or to believe that we can change the world through exploration?
Not for the Solar Impulse team – they’ve already done it, thanks to their pioneering innovative spirit that looks beyond conventional wisdom. Years of technological research and accumulated flight experience have shown that the zero-fuel airplane can fly day and night on solar energy alone. From European capitals to the Moroccan desert, and across the United States from coast to coast, read about the challenges this epic project has faced, all the emotion of the training flights, and the enthusiasm generated by this revolutionary aircraft.
Guided by a vision and driven by passion, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg invite you to share the first stages of their adventure… just before they take turns to climb into the single-seat cockpit to attempt the first solar flight around the world in the spring of 2015.

Adventure

SolarImpulse

The first round-the-world solar flight

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg invite you aboard the first great adventure of the 21st century – in a revolutionary solar aircraft. An odyssey lasting two years and covering nearly 27,000 miles (43,000 kilometers) west to east across four continents and two oceans. From the banks of the Ganges to the volcanoes of Hawaii, from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge to the pyramids of Egypt, Solar Impulse’s pilots were following in the footsteps of the pioneers who inspired them. And establishing the credibility of the technological solutions that gave their airplane perpetual endurance by using a clean and unlimited source of energy.
A path strewn with obstacles and challenges at every step, whether it be the fickle weather, or unforeseen technical and operational snags. Not to forget the central figure in this adventure, alone at the controls on very long flights, who had to go well beyond his normal physical and psychological limits.
A crazy dream that came true thanks to innovation. An achievement that was not only historic, but also energy-giving, inspiring our world to start the clean technology revolution.

Analysis

Quand le vent souffle dans le sens de ton chemin

« I consider butterflies and soap bubbles to be the best experts in the art of happiness", warned Nietzche. Hanging beneath their bubble of hot air, Bertrand Piccard and Wim Verstraeten must have pondered on this sentence. To cross the mighty ocean at the whim of the wind - what could possibly be more marvelous, more precarious, more sophisticated? Here poetry is married with technology ... In the best traditions of his grandfather and his father, Bertrand Piccard has added an illustrious and moving chapter to his great family saga. As someone who was tempted – and attempted – to cross the Atlantic in an airship, but did not succeed, I fully appreciate this irresistible attraction between the West and the East.
This book makes the reader understand just how much daring and persistence were needed to make the dream come true, and what anxieties were generated. Here is proof that to achieve great things you sometimes need to know how to make yourself very small…. »

Preface by Nicolas Hulot

Youth

Flying on sunshine

Flying an airplane day and night thanks to the Sun’s energy: impossible? Travelling 26,900 miles without fuel: unachievable? And yet, the pilots of Solar Impulse and their team took on this challenge aboard their revolutionary solar-powered airplane! In an epic flight from West to East, over four continents and two oceans, follow their route filled with hurdles and challenges at every stage. And dream with them of a better world thanks to tomorrow’s ecological solutions!

The Solar Impulse adventure brings together an impossible dream, the challenges of explorers, the commitments of men and women, concrete solutions for imagining the world of tomorrow… At a time when the public and young people are more than ever concerned by the future of our Planet, Solar Impulse has sent a wonderful message of hope by demonstrating that clean solutions exist.

Michèle Piccard, Bertrand’s wife, has taken up the exciting task of helping children to relive this epic voyage, making them aware of environmental challenges and engaging them in the work of finding ways of inventing a better world.