A wealth of research has gone into collating the definitive photographic record of Zeppelin Hindenburg

A history of dirigible flight describes travel aboard the luxury German airship, the Hindenburg, and details its 1937 demise

The LZ 129 took four years to build at a time when the world was suffering the impact of the Great Depression and it took the financial support of the National Socialists to bring the work to completion. Ownership of the airship passed from her builders, the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH to the 1935-established operating company, the Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei, whose objectives included showing the flag at home and abroad. The Hindenburg was involved in propaganda events of 1936, namely the Plebiscite Flight, the Olympic Games and Party celebrations at the Nurnberg Rally. Following successful service on the South and North Atlantic services, she crashed when coming in to land at Lakehurst in May 1937. Numerous theories as to the cause of the disaster are analysed, including the influence of commercial pressures, which caused a hurried landing to take place in dangerous conditions. A careful analysis of the financial performance of the North American service reveals that an increased number of flights in 1937 would have secured an operational profit. Route details for all flights, together with numerous photographs not published before, complete the story of the Hindenburg.

Text and cut-away illustrations feature the stories of real-life children who were passengers on the Hindenburg during its final voyage.

On July 2, 1900, Ferdinand Graf Zeppelin made the first ascent in an airship of his own design. The flight was initially viewed with skepticism, however public opinion changed after the destruction of his fourth airship at Echterdingen. Zeppelin received so many donations that not only was he able to found his own companies for the purpose of building airships, but also production facilities for the development and manufacture of engines, transmissions, shells, gas cells, airship hangars and even the construction of aircraft. All of these companies enjoyed a tremendous upswing during the First World War. After the war the Zeppelin airship company took some time to get back on its feet, but then produced its crowning achievements - the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin and the LZ 129 Hindenburg - memories of which still remain alive and influence the present. Author Hans Knäusel describes the Zeppelin story with a critical look at the economic and political effects of the period, from the beginning until the destruction of the Hindenburg in 1937. He also discusses airships built in other countries using the Zeppelin system, as well as the hangars and landing masts vital to operation of the big airships.

From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia, here is a suspenseful, heart-wrenching novel that brings the fateful voyage of the Hindenburg to life. On the evening of May 3rd, 1937, ninety-seven people board the Hindenburg for its final, doomed flight. Among them are a frightened stewardess who is not what she seems; the steadfast navigator determined to win her heart; a naive cabin boy eager to earn a permanent position; an impetuous journalist who has been blacklisted in her native Germany; and an enigmatic American businessman with a score to settle. Over the course of three champagne-soaked days, their lies, fears, agendas, and hopes for the future will be revealed—and one in their party will set a plot in motion that will have devastating consequences for them all.

Almost everything you know about airships is wrong. Between 1917 and 1935, the US Navy poured tens of millions of dollars into their airship programme, building a series of dirigibles each one more enormous than the last. These flying behemoths were to be the future of long-distance transport, competing with trains and ocean liners to carry people, post and cargo from country to country, and even across the sea. But by 1936 all these ambitious plans had been scrapped. What happened? When Giants Ruled the Sky is the story of how the American rigid airship came within a hair's breadth of dominating long-distance transportation. It is also the story of four men whose courage and determination kept the programme going despite the obstacles thrown in their way – until the Navy deliberately ignored a fatal design flaw, bringing the programme crashing back to earth. The subsequent cover-up prevented the truth from being told for more than eighty years. Now, for the first time, what really happened can be revealed.

A unique and indispensable guide to modern airship design and operation, for researchers and professionals working in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

History, with many photos and drawings.