Customer Reviews

The Freedom Element: Living with Hydrogen

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Mostly a personal biography and career history of Bain's working history in the early days of the space race. Very interesting and informative. Good read for those interested in the history of the space program.

"Life springs from hydrogen, and as fate has dictated, the subject of hydrogen has permeated my life." So opens the new, book length memoir, The Freedom Element by Dr. Addison Bain, a genuine rocket scientist/engineer who was one of the chief architects of the hydrogen propellant and life support infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center and other NASA facilities around the country.
The book begins with Bain's earliest days in northwest Montana where his interest in rockets and space flight first emerged. In 1959, his schooling as an engineer was interrupted by a call to service from the Army where he was assigned to the missile development program at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.. From there, Bain's transition to NASA seemed almost foreordained. He was with NASA at the beginning of the manned space program and was largely responsible for the initial design, installation, and operation of the substantial ground infrastructure for hydrogen and other gases used on Gemini, the Apollo lunar missions, and the Space Shuttle.
It was during his NASA tenure that Bain became intensely interested in the Hindenburg airship disaster that took place in May of 1937 when the gigantic zeppelin, made buoyant by lighter-than-air hydrogen gas, mysteriously ignited and burned to a cinder in less than a minute while attempting to land at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Much of The Freedom Element deals with Bain's dogged efforts to understand what really happened to the Hindenburg. The long held assumption was that the hydrogen gas aboard was responsible for the conflagration. Given his years of experience with hydrogen, Bain didn't believe it. The investigation that had been a hobby, took up Bain's attention full time when he retired from NASA. All the evidence he collected suggested that something other than hydrogen had started the fire aboard the Hindenburg.
As for the truth about what actually happened to the great airship that fateful night in Lakehurst, it's no longer a mystery. Bain did find the answer. Suffice it to say, it's all laid out clearly and in great detail in this book. Bain says, "The moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." That pretty much sums it up. To say more here would be giving away the story.
The Freedom Element was great fun to read. Addison Bain's intense curiosity and good nature shine through the pages. Though the decision to identify many people he dealt with by first name only is distracting at times, the writing style is breezy and engaging. This autobiographical book is a celebration of a life well lived. It was clearly written by a man who sees the glass half full rather than half empty.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a very personal story of Dr. Addison Bain's life, career, and commitment to hydrogen safety. Seven of the books' thirteen chapters walk the reader through the Hindenburg design, that fateful day at Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937, and Addison Bain's tireless efforts to prove that hydrogen was not responsible for the unfortunate loss of that great airship.

It tells the story of a young boy from Kalispell, Montana who's fascination with rockets led to many great career moments, culminating in a 30-year career at NASA as a technical expert in propellants and gases.

It is an enjoyable read not only for the thousands of us involved in hydrogen energy applications, but also for the younger generation who may be inspired to study science, math and engineering and someday join the hydrogen family.