books

As you may or may not know, finding books on airships or lighter-than-air is difficult at best. If you have or know of a text that you think is a good source of information, please, feel free to mail me the name, author and publisher. I'm always on the look out for fresh material.

I have listed the following books in alphabetical order and then ranked them on a one through five star system based on their informational content, presentation and my opinion. I only rate books that I personally read. Since I always seem to be in the process of reading a new airship book, new books will appear when I get done with my current reading.

	_Airships-Cardington_ By Geoffrey Chamberlain Terence Dalton Limited Copyright 1984 ISBN 0-86138-025-8 Review: This book not yet reviewed Available from the Airship Heritage Trust

_Airships-Cardington_
By Geoffrey Chamberlain
Terence Dalton Limited
Copyright 1984
ISBN 0-86138-025-8

Review: This book not yet reviewed

Available from the Airship Heritage Trust

_Disaster at the Pole_
By Wilbur Cross
Lyons
Copyright 2000
ISBN

Review: Wilbur Cross has provided us with a wonderfully complete and miticulously researched book about a little reported chapter of airship history. His book on the crash of the airship Italia and the subsiquent marooning of the surviving crew reads like a novel but is all reality, proving that truth can indeed be stranger, or at least as amazing as fiction. Any one who is interested in getting the whole story of this event and not just the usual overview will enjoy this. Very readable, the book goes into great detail with out bogging down so you feel that you really know who these people are and why they do what they do. A story of great sucess and great tragity, the Italia and her commander, Umberto Nobil, deserve their place in avation histoy. Mr. Cross' book does a wonderful job of delivering it to them.

_Famous Blimps and Airships_
By George Sullivan
Copyright 1988

Review: Good book for an over view of powered Lighter Than Air Flight. Concepts are well explained and data is well organized. As a children's introduction to airships book, it is very well written. As a reference book it is thin on detail but handy to have around for simple facts.

	_LZ 120 "Bodensee" und LZ 121 "Nordstern" Luftshiffe im Schatten des Versailler Vertrages_ By Peter Kleinheins Zeppelin-Museum Friedrichshafen Press Copyright 1994 ISBN 3-926162-80-5 Review: German language only. First of all I must confess the my german was not up to being able to read this book very well. That being the case, I still enjoyed what I was able to get out of the book. Finding information on these two ships is nearly impossible and it was wonderful to find it so well packaged. The photos are exceptional and the text, very thorough (so far as my weak german can make out). I do hope it is offered in english at some point. It looks like it would be an invaluable resource to anyone researching these two ships. Unranked due only to my inability to read german well enough to fairly rank it. It looks exceptional though. Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

_LZ 120 "Bodensee" und LZ 121 "Nordstern" Luftshiffe im Schatten des Versailler Vertrages_
By Peter Kleinheins
Zeppelin-Museum Friedrichshafen Press
Copyright 1994
ISBN 3-926162-80-5

Review: German language only. First of all I must confess the my german was not up to being able to read this book very well. That being the case, I still enjoyed what I was able to get out of the book. Finding information on these two ships is nearly impossible and it was wonderful to find it so well packaged. The photos are exceptional and the text, very thorough (so far as my weak german can make out). I do hope it is offered in english at some point. It looks like it would be an invaluable resource to anyone researching these two ships.
*Unranked due only to my inability to read german well enough to fairly rank it. It looks exceptional though.*: Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

	_Graf Zeppelin Erobert Das Luftmeer_ By Julia Ginsbach and Andrea Liebers DRW-Verlag Weibbrenner GmbH Copyright 1998 ISBN 3-87181-405-9 Review: This book is German language only. This is a wonderful children's book about the Count von Zeppelin and his airships. Though my german is not very good, I did have a fun time reading this story (as much as I can make out) and thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful and often whimsical pictures. If you are a german speaker or are trying to teach / learn the language, this is a great book. I do hope it becomes available in english at some date. Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

_Graf Zeppelin Erobert Das Luftmeer_
By Julia Ginsbach and Andrea Liebers
DRW-Verlag Weibbrenner GmbH
Copyright 1998
ISBN 3-87181-405-9

Review: This book is German language only. This is a wonderful children's book about the Count von Zeppelin and his airships. Though my german is not very good, I did have a fun time reading this story (as much as I can make out) and thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful and often whimsical pictures. If you are a german speaker or are trying to teach / learn the language, this is a great book. I do hope it becomes available in english at some date.
Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

	_The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships, Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg_ By Harold G. Dick with Douglas H. Robinson Smithsonian Institution Press Copyright 1985 ISBN 1-56098-219-5 Review: Excellent book! This is of the highest caliber! Written by an American who was there and participated in most of it. Great technical data is abundant through out the book. People who really want hard facts and data are going to love this book. The story of Mr. Dick's life working for Goodyear-Zeppelin is wonderful to read as well. A book by someone who knows about the ships first hand and from the inside out.

_The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships, Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg_
By Harold G. Dick with Douglas H. Robinson
Smithsonian Institution Press
Copyright 1985
ISBN 1-56098-219-5

Review: Excellent book! This is of the highest caliber! Written by an American who was there and participated in most of it. Great technical data is abundant through out the book. People who really want hard facts and data are going to love this book. The story of Mr. Dick's life working for Goodyear-Zeppelin is wonderful to read as well. A book by someone who knows about the ships first hand and from the inside out.

	_The Great Dirigibles. Their Triumphs and Disasters_ By John Toland Dover Publications Copyright 1972 ISBN 0-486-21397-8 Review: A very good overview book of the most famous airships; though much heavier on the disasters than the triumphs. This book is a great way for someone interested in airship history to get a more complete picture of some of the biggest moments of the major ships. Though a bit long winded in some places, the overall readability of the book is still good and brings a lot of small but important details to light. Very well researched.

_The Great Dirigibles. Their Triumphs and Disasters_
By John Toland
Dover Publications
Copyright 1972
ISBN 0-486-21397-8

Review: A very good overview book of the most famous airships; though much heavier on the disasters than the triumphs. This book is a great way for someone interested in airship history to get a more complete picture of some of the biggest moments of the major ships. Though a bit long winded in some places, the overall readability of the book is still good and brings a lot of small but important details to light. Very well researched.

_Hindenburg, An Illustrated History_
By Rick Archbold
Paintings By Ken Marschall
Warner Books
Copyright 1994
ISBN 0-446-51784-4

Review: One heck of a coffee table book. Provides an excellent overview of the Zeppelin in its heyday. Wonderful artist's recreations of moments in history and great cutaways too. The author attempts to cover so much airship history that much that is very interesting or important is given only a paragraph or two due to the size of the book. Still, a very good read and a must for any airship library.

	_LZ 130 "Graf Zeppelin" and the End of Commercial Airship Travel_ By Manfred Bauer and John Duggan Zeppelin-Museum Friedrichshafen Press Copyright 1996 ISBN 3-89549-401-1 Review: This book not yet reviewed Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

_LZ 130 "Graf Zeppelin" and the End of Commercial Airship Travel_
By Manfred Bauer and John Duggan
Zeppelin-Museum Friedrichshafen Press
Copyright 1996
ISBN 3-89549-401-1

Review: This book not yet reviewed

Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

_My Zeppelins_
By Dr. Hugo Eckener and Knut Eckener
Copyright 1958
Ayer Company Publishers
ISBN 0-405-12162-8

Review: The book by the man who made the Zeppelin company what it was. This is a must read for any Airship devotee and should be central to your library. A rather small book, it is none the less full of wonderful information and stories from the man who made the whole thing possible. The book focuses a great deal on how the ships are flown and the weather (which the good Doctor was famous for doing and reading flawlessly). Though hard to read at times it will not disappoint any dyed in the wool airship lover.

_Pioneer of Intercontinental Aviation by Chance. The History of Zeppelin Airship type "W"_
By Dr. Wolfgang Meighorner
Zeppelin-Museum Friedrichshafen
Copyright 1992
ISBN 3-89549-403-8

Review: This is a Zeppelin historians delight. If you are looking for the ultimate in compiled information on the great but little known flights of the "Afrika" ship, L 59, then this is the book for you. Meant for those with a good working knowledge of Zeppelins, this book pieces together the most likely outcomes of the flights of L 59 in the east Europe and Africa, including her final destruction. A great window on the personalities and politics as well as the ship her self. An excellent addition to any L.T.A. library. Highly recommended.

For German version:
For English version:
I give the English version one fever star due to some awkward translation from the original German text. Sentence structure is sometimes unusual and makes understanding difficult at times but if you give it a careful read, you can usually figure out the meaning.
Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

_Shenandoah' Saga_
By Thom Hook
Copyright 1973

Review: Lots of good data for hard core L.T.A. fanatics but you have to dig for it. This is a story meant to be adapted for film. Because of the type of book it is (1st person or 2nd person minute by minute story), it is hard to tell real fact from author's embellishment and so it loses a lot of credibility. I also found it a rather melodramatic version of the real tragedy. If you buy it for hard fact reference material, you'll be disappointed, but if you produce movies, give it a read.

	_Ships of the Air_ By Lynn Curlee Houghton Mifflin Company Copyright 1996 ISBN 0-395-69338-1 Review: This is a tough book to review. The format is of a children's picture book, but if it is meant to be one, it misses the mark. The information in the book is presented in a way that would be difficult for most young reader to understand, mainly due to vocabulary. Many of the stories of airships are likewise very brief leaving little for explanations or reasons for events. Having said this, the Author is also the illustrator and the illustrations in the book are truly marvelous. I would love a print of any of the pictures in this book to hang in my home. Over all, I get the feeling that the text was written to be a vehicle for the artwork, which as I said, is superb.

_Ships of the Air_
By Lynn Curlee
Houghton Mifflin Company
Copyright 1996
ISBN 0-395-69338-1

Review: This is a tough book to review. The format is of a children's picture book, but if it is meant to be one, it misses the mark. The information in the book is presented in a way that would be difficult for most young reader to understand, mainly due to vocabulary. Many of the stories of airships are likewise very brief leaving little for explanations or reasons for events. Having said this, the Author is also the illustrator and the illustrations in the book are truly marvelous. I would love a print of any of the pictures in this book to hang in my home. Over all, I get the feeling that the text was written to be a vehicle for the artwork, which as I said, is superb.

-The Story of a Zeppelin Mechanic_
By Eugen Bentele
Copyright 1992
ISBN 3-926162-59-7

Review: The autobiography of Eugen Bentele as an employee of the Zeppelin company and his experiences aboard the great ships. I fully enjoyed this look into the past and only wish that the book was longer. It has great technical data about the engines (which he worked on) and how it was to ride in the engine cars on these wonderful airships. Thoroughly enjoyable and well written.

Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

_The Zeppelin in Combat_
By Douglas H. Robinson
Schiffer Military/Aviation History
Copyright 1994
ISBN 0-88740-510-X

Review: Specializes in the early and WWI Zeppelins as well as those by Schütte-Lanz. Extremely complete with mountains of technical data, rare photos, schematic drawings and a wonderfully written text. Douglas H. Robinson is one of the deans of airship knowledge in the world today.

_Zeppelins of World War I_
By Wilbur Cross
Paragon House
Copyright 1991
ISBN 1-55778-382-9

Review: A wonderful book written about a nearly forgotten time. Mr. Cross does a beautiful job of bringing the reader into the lives and deaths of the legendary Zeppeliners from the Great War. Extremely well researched and highly focused, this book does a very good job of conveying technical information about the ships, personal information about the men and showing the reader the big picture. This book is very hard to find due to a small release and being out of print but it's worth hunting down a copy.

_The Zeppelin Reader_
By Robert Hedin
U. of Iowa Press
Copyright 1998
ISBN 0-87745-629-1

Review: A really fun book. The author gives the reader a very unusual look of airships in a more holistic light. More than just plain fact and figures, Robert Hendin gives you a feel for a time when airships had captured the imaginations of the world and seemed like they would be with us forever. Complete with period poems, first person narratives and music dedicated to airships, this is an enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book.

Other Items:

Model By Revell
Hindenburg

Review: Good model by a good company. I bought mine in Friedrichshafen, but I believe that it is available in the U.S. as well. My only complaint was that it is rather small at 1:720 scale. You will have to make your own swastikas for the fin flash. Revell has also come out with a LZ130 model which is the exact same model here but with the engine cars facing the other way and with different props!

Available from the Zeppelin Museum Gift Shop

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