Describes the giant airship "Hindenburg," the events that led up to its explosive crash on a New Jersey airfield in 1937, and the effects of the disaster on airship travel.

On May 6, 1937, the celebrated airship Hindenburg caught fire during its landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 people. A German zeppelin, the Hindenburg was the largest airship ever built. It made numerous transatlantic journeys, offering passengers comfort and luxury during the years of the Great Depression. What was supposed to be a routine landing on the first transatlantic flight of the season ended in tragedy. Present at the site were many journalists, who were on hand to record the tragedy for the entire world to see, etching the indelible images on the minds of generations to come. The Hindenburg disaster was so great it effectively ended the practice of using dirigibles for passenger use. In The Hindenburg Disaster of 1937, read about what caused this tragedy.

Recounts the eighty-year history of dirigibles, from the American airships the Shenandoah, the Macon, and the Akron, to the German Hindenburg, and includes the disasters and triumphs of builders and aeronauts such as Dr. Solomon Andrews, the Brazilian Santos-Dumont, Count Ferdinand Zeppelin, the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen, and the Italian Nobile.