When Giants Ruled the Sky
The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the American Rigid Airship
Published on 29. October 2021
Book
Hardback
978-0-7509-8783-7 (ISBN)
Description
Almost everything you know about airships is wrong.
Between 1917 and 1935, the US Navy poured tens of millions of dollars into their airship programme, building a series of dirigibles each one more enormous than the last. These flying behemoths were to be the future of long-distance transport, competing with trains and ocean liners to carry people, post and cargo from country to country, and even across the sea. But by 1936 all these ambitious plans had been scrapped.
What happened?
When Giants Ruled the Sky is the story of how the American rigid airship came within a hair's breadth of dominating long-distance transportation. It is also the story of four men whose courage and determination kept the programme going despite the obstacles thrown in their way - until the Navy deliberately ignored a fatal design flaw, bringing the programme crashing back to earth. The subsequent cover-up prevented the truth from being told for more than eighty years.
Now, for the first time, what really happened can be revealed.
Between 1917 and 1935, the US Navy poured tens of millions of dollars into their airship programme, building a series of dirigibles each one more enormous than the last. These flying behemoths were to be the future of long-distance transport, competing with trains and ocean liners to carry people, post and cargo from country to country, and even across the sea. But by 1936 all these ambitious plans had been scrapped.
What happened?
When Giants Ruled the Sky is the story of how the American rigid airship came within a hair's breadth of dominating long-distance transportation. It is also the story of four men whose courage and determination kept the programme going despite the obstacles thrown in their way - until the Navy deliberately ignored a fatal design flaw, bringing the programme crashing back to earth. The subsequent cover-up prevented the truth from being told for more than eighty years.
Now, for the first time, what really happened can be revealed.
Reviews / Votes
'Totally captivating. A fascinating account of glory and tragedy that soars with suspense. I enjoyed the hell out of it!' -- Dirk Cussler 'When Giants Ruled the Sky examines the successes, problems and controversies of the American rigid airship program bringing the industrialists and engineers who designed and built them, and the officers and men who flew them, to life. No airship fancier's library should be without a copy.' -- Tom Crouch 'It's too often forgotten that for a few short years the U.S. Navy actually possessed flying aircraft carriers and the world's greatest airship fleet. In his latest book, John Geoghegan has performed sterling service in excavating the astounding story of the Akron and the Macon from the tomb of lost history.' -- Alexander Rose 'A well-researched history of the rigid airship "carrier" during the interwar years of U.S. naval aeronautics. A genuine contribution.' -- William Althoff 'This extremely readable and gripping new account of the US Navy rigid airship programme and the demise of its giant flying aircraft carriers Akron and Macon, draws on fresh statements and personal accounts to tell the story through the eyes of those directly involved. The best book on the subject by far.' -- Alastair Reid 'The best book focused upon the USS Akron & Macon published in the last 55 years!' -- C.P. HallMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
Illustrations
20 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
824 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7509-8783-7 (9780750987837)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
John J. Geoghegan
When Giants Ruled the Sky
The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the American Rigid Airship
E-Book
10/2021
The History Press Ltd
€20.99
Available for download
Person
JOHN J. GEOGHEGAN is a journalist, author, and editor who specializes in reporting on White Elephant Technology. His articles have appeared in the New York Times Science section, WIRED, Popular Science, and the Smithsonian's Air & Space magazine, and he has featured in a number of interviews and documentaries. He has previously written When Giants Ruled the Sky for The History Press, and Operation Storm: Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Their Plan to Change the Course of WWII (Crown, 2013), both on WETech inventions. He lives in California.