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

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: An excellent book that appropriately combines historical, technical, and personal detail.

Rating:
Summary: Best job in the world
Review: As Goodyear's liason to the Zeppelin Company, Harold G. Dick had unprecedented access to the ships, the information, and the people who defined this "golden age." He speaks with authtority because he was there. He can relate unique statistics on the performance of the Hindenberg in trans-Atlantic flight because he flew as a officer/observer. He speaks about the personalities of Dr. Hugo Eckner, the chairman of Zeppelin, and his son Knut, because he enjoyed the friendship of both. He also touches upon the rise of the Nazi Party, since he was a direct witness to propoganda flights (and some more harrowing events). (His photographs of the damage sustained by the Hindenberg as it attempted to lift off on such a flight are unique; Nazi officials confiscated all others, but he managed to hide his film.) His access was unique, and so therefore is this book.

Rating:
Summary: Belongs in the Library of Every Zeppelin Enthusiast
Review: As Goodyear's liason to the Zeppelin Company, Harold G. Dick had unprecedented access to the ships, the information, and the people who defined this "golden age." He speaks with authtority because he was there. He can relate unique statistics on the performance of the Hindenberg in trans-Atlantic flight because he flew as a officer/observer. He speaks about the personalities of Dr. Hugo Eckner, the chairman of Zeppelin, and his son Knut, because he enjoyed the friendship of both. He also touches upon the rise of the Nazi Party, since he was a direct witness to propoganda flights (and some more harrowing events). (His photographs of the damage sustained by the Hindenberg as it attempted to lift off on such a flight are unique; Nazi officials confiscated all others, but he managed to hide his film.) His access was unique, and so therefore is this book.

Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars - An excellent book
Review: Golden Age Of The Great Passenger Airships: Graf Zeppelin And Hindenburg (1992.) A book by Harold G. Dick.

INTRODUCTION:
In the late 1800s and the first third of the 1900s, Zeppelins ruled the skies. Before commercial airline travel became heavily used by airplanes, it was the airships that transported people across vast distances. They were also used by the military as scouts and even flying aircraft carriers. By far, the two most popular of these airships were the Graf Zeppelin, which circumnavigated the earth in 1929, and the Hindenburg, whose disasterous crash on May 6, 1937, became one of the most famous air disasters of all time. Many a book has been written on the subject over the years, including this one by Harold G. Dick, a man who collected data back in the golden age. Read on for my review of this book.

SYNOPSIS:
Mr. Dick has no shortage of airship data, and in this book, he presents it all. The book's title is somewhat misleading, in that it is not limited to the history of the two airships contained within it. The book covers the entire history of the rigid airship program, from its birth in the late 1800s, right down to its downfall in the early 1940s. An assortment of facts, mathematical charts, diagrams, photos, and other pieces of information all come together in the book to tell the story.

OPINIONS:
In my opinion, Mr. Dick compiled his information very well. One of the greatest advantages of this book over other ones of the same type is that Dick was alive at the time of the rigid airship program, and he had a chance to collect data and even meet many of the men involved. I do have a few minor complaints, though. For one thing, the information is not organized in any particular order. This makes reading through the book somewhat confusing if you lack knowledge of the information. Also, the book is writted from Dick's own point of view, and not from a broader, more general perspective. Because of this he tends to ramble about his own life at times. Still, this are only small complaints. Where else are you gonna find a listing of what different airship pilots/employees were supposed to wear for their jobs? I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the rigid airships of the past.

OVERALL:
Overall, I am satisfied with this book. Harold G. Dick is a man who knows what he's talking about, and in this book, he really lets it show. Many books have been published about this subject, and this is one of the finest. No rigid airship enthusiast should be without this book.

Rating:
Summary: Best job in the world
Review: Harold Dick wrote an enticing account of his time with the great airships. He had complete access to the entire program. They even let him assume flight control resposibilities. The right man was in the right place at the right time.