The Hindenburg (Great Disasters and Their Reforms)

De Angelis, Gina

ISBN 10: 0791052729 ISBN 13: 9780791052723

Publisher: Chelsea House Pub, 2000

Describes the development and early flights of airships and the disastrous explosion of the passenger airship, Hindenberg, at a New Jersey airfield on May 6, 1937, in which thirty-six people were killed.

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From School Library Journal:

Gr 6-8-Though the Titanic craze of the last few years has subsided, kids will be fascinated by this account of another famous disaster. The 1937 event, the first ever in which paying air passengers perished, is duly described, but this title goes beyond that by giving thorough explanations of the development of many kinds of airships, from 1783 to the present. De Angelis also follows up on how this tragedy has affected air travel ever since, and refers, naturally, to the Goodyear blimp. She includes many interesting details, such as the fact that the Hindenburg featured a pigskin-covered piano, and that the odorless hydrogen was scented with garlic so that it could be detected. To this day, no cause of the disaster is known for certain, but the author brings forward many theories and fairly examines the plausibility of each one. Black-and-white photos and reproductions appear throughout. A chapter on the future of airships is hopeful and well researched. Shelley Tanaka's The Disaster of the Hindenburg (Scholastic, 1993; o.p.) is far and away better illustrated, but De Angelis's title is the one to turn to for research, especially for historical and political information, and for clear explanations on the design and manufacture of the aircraft.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL

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