The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships: Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg

Captivation is the word for this book as the author takes you back to those breath-taking and glorious years when passengers got the chance of a lifetime to travel majestically and elegentley by Airship! The author got to do this more than TEN times while rating, reveiwing, and studying the methods, training, and construction of these great beasts of the skys... including the most remembered of all... the HINDENBERG! The author was a trained engineer and delves into the technical aspects such as weahter effects, water recovery, fuel usage, wieght restrictions, loads, and also the scientific differences of Helieum and Hydrogen quite a few times. If you have an interest in this field then it won't bother you to trudge through it... and even see the beautiful detail at which it takes to get one of these things in the air, become stable in that medium, and fly safely... with HYDROGEN no less... and do it amazingly a hundred times... and over the Atlantic and back... and around the WORLD (as the less remembered Graf Zepplin succeded in doing). You would think all of this would be taking place now as he describes day to day operations in Germany at the birthplace of these great ships of the air. But this all took place in the early 1930's!!! In reading and enjoying this book... I wish these great vessels of the sky would return, and with all of todays technology at hand would be easier than ever compared to what they used in yesteryear... it would be a dream come true.

The book came quickly. It is in good condition as described. Thanks.

Very interesting first person account about the brief heyday of big passenger airships by the one American who was in the middle of it. He provides details and photos not available anywhere else. We don't get to see much of this aspect of the early days of commercial air travel because of the politics, the sudden tragic demise of the large airship and the pro-airplane lobby. The airship was almost dead going into WWII and blimps were revived only for special purpose use. The airplane, on the other hand, got a huge step up. This is a fascinating look before all of this happened and lighter-than-air was the state of the art for crossing an ocean. The apolitical nature of the book and the author's avoidance for the most part of the Nazi political issue is contrary to almost everything seen these days about Germany in the late 30s. A must read for LTA enthusiasts.

For an American to be in the middle of all of this adventure during this tumultuous time period is absolutely fascinating. Once I started reading it, I simply could not put it down. To wit, I felt I was transported back in time to Friedrichshafen and lived the adventures aboard the great Zeppelin airships and lived the life of Harold Dick. The pictures are also wonderful. The political perspective is just right. Yes, we all know the German NAZI's were horrible people, but the Germans who created and flew the Zeppelins were innovative and creative and inventive. The book is worth it. It will stay in my personal library forever.

What makes this book outstanding is the author's personal experience at the controls of both the Graf Zeppelin and the Hindenburg. He was assigned to live in Germany and learn as much as possible about the construction and operation of rigid air ships. His first-hand account makes for both a great story and detailed technical information that could only come from someone with his unlimited access to both airships. If you want to know the real story of the development and operation of Zeppelins in the 1930s, buy this excellent book!

Pleased with book.

how they came about

loaded with great real life photos. these authors hit a home run for sure

A must-have book on the technical history of the Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin. Text is detailed yet readable with some nice photographs to accompany it. The only downside is that the photos have poor contrast and shadows are often lost.

A remarkable documentary book with many interesting facts and personal recollections. A must for those interested in this fascinating era. Thoroughly recommended.