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Ships in the sky
When you think about it, the history of flight began not with Orville and Wilbur at Kittyhawk, but in 1783 with the development of the balloon. "Lighter than air" progressed to sleek hydrogen-filled silk cylinders that reached hundred of feet in length and were driven by gasoline powered engines. They cruised serenely above the Earth's surface, carried tons of cargo, crossed oceans and continents, and were felt by many to be the next logical step in transportation. The Germans were particularly adept in dirigible design. But these airborne leviathans had one fatal the gas the gave them levitation was flammable, and the spectacular explosion of the Hindenburg at Lakehurst Naval Station in 1939 illustrated better than any textbook just how vulnerable they were.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1957
3 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
John Toland
40 books194 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
John^Toland - 17th century theologian, Philosopher & Satirist
John^^Toland - American writer and historian (WWII & Dillinger)
John^^^Toland - Article: "The Man who Reads Minds"
John Willard Toland (June 29, 1912 in La Crosse, Wisconsin - January 4, 2004 in Danbury, Connecticut) was an American author and historian. He is best known for his biography of Adolf Hitler.[1]
Toland tried to write history as a straightforward narrative, with minimal analysis or judgment. This method may have stemmed from his original goal of becoming a playwright. In the summers between his college years, he travelled with hobos and wrote several plays with hobos as central characters, none of which achieved the stage.[2] At one point he managed to publish an article on dirigibles in Look magazine; it proved extremely popular and led to his career as a historian.
One exception to his general approach is his Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath about the Pearl Harbor attack and the investigations of it, in which he wrote about evidence that President Franklin Roosevelt knew in advance of plans to attack the naval base but remained silent. The book was widely criticized at the time. Since the original publication, Toland added new evidence and rebutted early critics. Also, an anonymous source, known as "Seaman Z" (Robert D. Ogg) has since come forth to publicly tell his story.
Perhaps his most important work, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971, is The Rising Sun. Based on original and extensive interviews with high Japanese officials who survived the war, the book chronicles Imperial Japan from the military rebellion of February 1936 to the end of World War II. The book won the Pulitzer because it was the first book in English to tell the history of the war in the Pacific from the Japanese point of view, rather than from an American perspective.
The stories of the battles for the stepping stones to Japan, the islands in the Pacific which had come under Japanese domination, are told from the perspective of the commander sitting in his cave rather than from that of the heroic forces engaged in the assault. Most of these commanders committed suicide at the conclusion of the battle, but Toland was able to reconstruct their viewpoint from letters to their wives and from reports they sent to Tokyo. Toland died in 2004 of pneumonia.
While predominantly a non-fiction author, Toland also wrote two historical novels, Gods of War and Occupation. He says in his autobiography that he earned little money from his Pulitzer Prize-winning, The Rising Sun, but was set for life from the earnings of his biography of Hitler, for which he also did original research.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tol...
John^Toland - 17th century theologian, Philosopher & Satirist
John^^Toland - American writer and historian (WWII & Dillinger)
John^^^Toland - Article: "The Man who Reads Minds"
John Willard Toland (June 29, 1912 in La Crosse, Wisconsin - January 4, 2004 in Danbury, Connecticut) was an American author and historian. He is best known for his biography of Adolf Hitler.[1]
Toland tried to write history as a straightforward narrative, with minimal analysis or judgment. This method may have stemmed from his original goal of becoming a playwright. In the summers between his college years, he travelled with hobos and wrote several plays with hobos as central characters, none of which achieved the stage.[2] At one point he managed to publish an article on dirigibles in Look magazine; it proved extremely popular and led to his career as a historian.
One exception to his general approach is his Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath about the Pearl Harbor attack and the investigations of it, in which he wrote about evidence that President Franklin Roosevelt knew in advance of plans to attack the naval base but remained silent. The book was widely criticized at the time. Since the original publication, Toland added new evidence and rebutted early critics. Also, an anonymous source, known as "Seaman Z" (Robert D. Ogg) has since come forth to publicly tell his story.
Perhaps his most important work, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971, is The Rising Sun. Based on original and extensive interviews with high Japanese officials who survived the war, the book chronicles Imperial Japan from the military rebellion of February 1936 to the end of World War II. The book won the Pulitzer because it was the first book in English to tell the history of the war in the Pacific from the Japanese point of view, rather than from an American perspective.
The stories of the battles for the stepping stones to Japan, the islands in the Pacific which had come under Japanese domination, are told from the perspective of the commander sitting in his cave rather than from that of the heroic forces engaged in the assault. Most of these commanders committed suicide at the conclusion of the battle, but Toland was able to reconstruct their viewpoint from letters to their wives and from reports they sent to Tokyo. Toland died in 2004 of pneumonia.
While predominantly a non-fiction author, Toland also wrote two historical novels, Gods of War and Occupation. He says in his autobiography that he earned little money from his Pulitzer Prize-winning, The Rising Sun, but was set for life from the earnings of his biography of Hitler, for which he also did original research.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tol...
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 2, 2014
Extraordinarily interesting. John Toland melds personal recollections and experiences with sound historical research to always provide for a hard-to-put-down-read.
Did you know that a Dr. Andrews had invented a dirigible that could fly against the wind with no ostensible form of propulsion? He claimed he sailed it like a sailing vessel and it had to do with the shape of the balloon. He made several demonstration flights but was unable to interest the War Department during the Civil War, his requests for an audience being lost, all sorts of silly reasons. Following the Civil War he tried to form a company that would provide transportation between Washington and New York and to that end formed a company with stock to defray the cost of the Hydrogen. Again he made several very successful flights (he called his device the Aereon) but the company failed along with many others during a stock market crash. No one has since been able to fly a dirigible with a source of propulsion. His secret went with him to the grave.
Each of the major advances in airship flight is examined. Most of the record is filled with disasters as inexperience coupled with over-enthusiasm and wild optimism resulted in a lethal combination. But some heroic stories as well: the efforts of General Nobile to reach the North Pole and his extraordinary survival on ice floes after the crash of the Italia; the tragic loss of the Shenandoah, plus the time when the Los Angeles went vertical while moored (picture included.) These things were immense, stretching over 800 feet in length, longer than any battleship at the time. Indeed, the military considered them as potent weapons. Several carried small airplanes that could be lowered and flown off from the airship and then recovered by the pilot flying on to a hook hanging from the airship’s hangar.
The U.S., as virtually the sole producer of helium, a non-explosive, lighter-than-air gas, used airships to good advantage patrolling the east coast during WW II where they were effective in protecting convoys from U-Boats.
Everyone knows the story of the Hindenburg including the near insanity that disaster caused in the radio announcer. (You can watch the explosion on Youtube). Few realize the amazing around-the-world trip of the Graf Zeppelin, his (in German the zeppelins took the masculine article) trip that averaged over seventy mph and went through several storms.
For a more detailed account of Zeppelin history, I recommend Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine: The Great Zeppelin and the Dawn of Air Travel (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
Did you know that a Dr. Andrews had invented a dirigible that could fly against the wind with no ostensible form of propulsion? He claimed he sailed it like a sailing vessel and it had to do with the shape of the balloon. He made several demonstration flights but was unable to interest the War Department during the Civil War, his requests for an audience being lost, all sorts of silly reasons. Following the Civil War he tried to form a company that would provide transportation between Washington and New York and to that end formed a company with stock to defray the cost of the Hydrogen. Again he made several very successful flights (he called his device the Aereon) but the company failed along with many others during a stock market crash. No one has since been able to fly a dirigible with a source of propulsion. His secret went with him to the grave.
Each of the major advances in airship flight is examined. Most of the record is filled with disasters as inexperience coupled with over-enthusiasm and wild optimism resulted in a lethal combination. But some heroic stories as well: the efforts of General Nobile to reach the North Pole and his extraordinary survival on ice floes after the crash of the Italia; the tragic loss of the Shenandoah, plus the time when the Los Angeles went vertical while moored (picture included.) These things were immense, stretching over 800 feet in length, longer than any battleship at the time. Indeed, the military considered them as potent weapons. Several carried small airplanes that could be lowered and flown off from the airship and then recovered by the pilot flying on to a hook hanging from the airship’s hangar.
The U.S., as virtually the sole producer of helium, a non-explosive, lighter-than-air gas, used airships to good advantage patrolling the east coast during WW II where they were effective in protecting convoys from U-Boats.
Everyone knows the story of the Hindenburg including the near insanity that disaster caused in the radio announcer. (You can watch the explosion on Youtube). Few realize the amazing around-the-world trip of the Graf Zeppelin, his (in German the zeppelins took the masculine article) trip that averaged over seventy mph and went through several storms.
For a more detailed account of Zeppelin history, I recommend Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine: The Great Zeppelin and the Dawn of Air Travel (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
February 4, 2021
This book has been sitting on my shelf for years. I'm not even sure where I got it. But there it was, taking up space. As I sat there pondering whether to donate it to Goodwill straight away, I picked it up and started reading.
The more I read, the more I came to really enjoy this book. The book chronicles many of the great rigid airships of yesteryear. There are about a dozen stories, with most, but not all of them ending in disaster. The disasters are covered as if your were in the airship, in the moment. First-hand stories have been sewn together in to what I think make this the dirigible book to have if you're in to that sort of thing. Toland should be praised for this fine work.
Ultimately, this book went back on my shelf, saved from Goodwill like some unused toy from "Toy Story" whose owner found it again and took it out for a while.
I heartily endorse this as a fine read, and suggest you get to it and read it too!
The more I read, the more I came to really enjoy this book. The book chronicles many of the great rigid airships of yesteryear. There are about a dozen stories, with most, but not all of them ending in disaster. The disasters are covered as if your were in the airship, in the moment. First-hand stories have been sewn together in to what I think make this the dirigible book to have if you're in to that sort of thing. Toland should be praised for this fine work.
Ultimately, this book went back on my shelf, saved from Goodwill like some unused toy from "Toy Story" whose owner found it again and took it out for a while.
I heartily endorse this as a fine read, and suggest you get to it and read it too!
February 28, 2025
Ennäe, sõjaajaloolane on õhulaevadest raamatu kirjutanud! Osa sisust kattub Buddy Levy raamatu omaga, aga Tolandi lähenemine on nats teistsugune. Mind huvitasid rohkem polaarlennud, aga USA ja Inglise dirižaablite osa oli ikka uskumatult põnev. Hindenburgi hukkumisest oli omaette peatükk ja seal leidus sihukesi detaile, mis teistel ajaloolastel on kahe silma vahele jäänud.
Tolandi tees on see, et dirižaablite aeg oli juba enne Hindenburgi katastroofi ümber saamas ja see pauk sai viimaseks kirstunaelaks. Kõikides riikides kordus põhimõtteliselt seesama stsenaarium: dirižaablite ideed promos mingi kõrge ametikohaga entusiast, kes lõpuks ise sihukese õhusõidukiga alla kukkus ja surma sai. Pärast seda keerati rahakraanid lõplikult kinni.
Nobile lendude peatükk oli ka väga hea ja üllatavalt põhjalik. On näha, et autor on kodutöö korralikult ära teinud.
Tolandi tees on see, et dirižaablite aeg oli juba enne Hindenburgi katastroofi ümber saamas ja see pauk sai viimaseks kirstunaelaks. Kõikides riikides kordus põhimõtteliselt seesama stsenaarium: dirižaablite ideed promos mingi kõrge ametikohaga entusiast, kes lõpuks ise sihukese õhusõidukiga alla kukkus ja surma sai. Pärast seda keerati rahakraanid lõplikult kinni.
Nobile lendude peatükk oli ka väga hea ja üllatavalt põhjalik. On näha, et autor on kodutöö korralikult ära teinud.
January 29, 2025
This book had no reason to go this hard
August 27, 2016
John Toland's dated but compelling history tells the story of Zeppelins and dirigibles during the early 20th Century by retelling several moments of triumph and disaster, from the experiments of Solomon Andrews in 1865 to the crash of the Hindenburg in 1937. The narratives stick closely to the source material and provides only descriptions and dialogue gleaned from interviews and eyewitness accounts. The book's age is apparent through its stylistic quirks, such as Toland's annoying tendency to refer to the few women in the book by the names of their husbands. These complaints aside, "The Great Dirigibles" successfully evokes both the romance and danger of lighter than air ships during the early age of flight.
June 9, 2015
Reads like a novel, with enough detail to inform and intrigue and enough good writing to interest. No axes to grind, no unedited overwriting. Just history the way its supposed to be. It left me enjoying everything I read and wishing for just a little bit more: perhaps the true definition of a classic.
The only thing it might have wanted was a few more photographs, but that’s what coffee table books are for, and this isn't one of those.
The only thing it might have wanted was a few more photographs, but that’s what coffee table books are for, and this isn't one of those.
August 25, 2007
A history of lighter than air craft. At one time these were thought to be the solution to travel problems. This book focuses mainly on the use of lighter than air craft to explore remote parts of the earth - especially the Arctic. Which, it turns out, was not a very good idea. So then the book turns into one of heroism and loss. If you like adventure and like to feel cold - this will do it!
March 22, 2008
Informative look beyond just the Hindenburg of the many voyages and tragedies experienced in air travel of this type. The book was originally published in 1957 and then reprinted in 1972 and during this time, many new theories have developed that explain why certain events took place. Although slightly out of date on technology explanations, the material and stories are worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews