Customer Reviews

Ice Crash

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The Story of the airship Italia and her crash in the arctic in 1928 is an incredible tale that brings together many personalities from the surrounding nations. The author puts you inside the minds of the chief characters involved, while not forsaking a complex story of early aviation, with it's limitations. The redemption of Umberto Nobile, the captain of the airship, is dealt with, as well as the distortions that the political forces of Fascist Italy brought to bear against this martyr to airship exploration.

This is a wonderfully exciting account of the career of a scientist and explorer who, unfortunately for him, happened to be the wrong thing (Italian) at the wrong time. The author makes a good case for giving Umberto Nobile credit for being the first man to cross over the North Pole by air (in a balloon!), yet rather than being hailed in his country, he was practically court-marshalled. A reminder of the important role government plays in either fostering or undermining its citizens' genius.

This book has everything you'd want in a good read. The subject piques your interest, and the story itself, as well as the author's excellent writing style, compels you on. I would recommend it also as a book likely to help foster an interest in history and technology in young people. It's a story you'll never forget.