Why read Empires of the Sky?

Book cover of Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the World

Book description

The Golden Age of Aviation is brought to life in this story of the giant Zeppelin airships that once roamed the sky—a story that ended with the fiery destruction of the Hindenburg.

“Genius . . . a definitive tale of an incredible time when mere mortals learned to fly.”—Keith O’Brien,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Empires of the Sky as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

John J. Geoghegan

Author

Rose does a fantastic job explaining how the airship, once considered the future of long-distance transportation, was overtaken by the airplane by recounting the pitched battle between Dr. Hugo Eckener, father of Germany’s Graf Zeppelin, and Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan American Airways.

This book reads like an un-put-downable thriller sharing previously unknown information about the golden days of airship travel while revealing the fascinating character of two men who simply refused to give in. The chapters on how Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin’s Luftschiffbau Zeppelin rose to become the undisputed leader in commercial airship travel are particularly strong.…

From John's 3 favorite reads in 2023.