Customer Reviews

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

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One of the best airship books written as the author was directly involved in all aspects of the zeppelin program. No book written so far exceeds this one in illuminating the operations and organization of the passenger airship effort. Pictures never before seen are included. The story is told in context with the political situation of the time. A must read book.

Harold Dick was the American representative of the Goodyear-Zeppelin joint venture, and he lived and worked at Friedrichshafen and aboard the Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg. Dick was given full access to the operations of the German Zeppelin company, and he flew as a passenger and/or crew member on 22 transatlantic flights aboard the Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg. His observations about the German passenger zeppelins are fascinating, and he provides a rare personal insight, from an American perspective, on airship captains Hugo Eckener, Ernst Lehmann, and Max Pruss. Dick also provides a wealth of technical details on zeppelin construction and operation which are not available anywhere else. While not written with the eloquence or grace of a professional author, the detail and commentary in Dick's book make it a must-read for any serious student of zeppelin history.

This book is a first-hand account by Harold G. Dick who was the only American ever to be allowed into the Zeppelin-Luftschiffbau operations. His experiences between 1934-1938 and his extensive notes of that time provide the reader with a fantastic understanding of the complexities and excitement associated with these graceful giants of the sky....Wish I had been alive at that time to see them!!!

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.

An excellent book that appropriately combines historical, technical, and personal detail.

Well written history and factual information on the great air ships. Photos and design plan are a plus.

Fair disclosure: I was given this book by my mother-in-law; Harold Dick was her uncle. Nonetheless, while I have an indirect family connection, I think I can be objective enough to say that this is a great book.

First, Harold is clearly a lover of and believer in airships, even many years after his work with the Zeppelin company when he wrote this book. That comes through on every page.

But on top of the wonderful feelings that he conveys, there is also a lot of technical detail. Pressure ceiling, ballast, wind, valving hydrogen, gasoline vs another fuel, etc. But told in an interesting way.

And a lot of nice pictures...some are the ONLY pictures in existence of certain events.

Altogether a really great book for enthusiasts of aviation history.

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.

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.