Dr. Eckener's Dream Machine : The Great Zeppelin and the Dawn of Air Travel

by Douglas Botting

• ISBN13: 9780805064599
• ISBN10: 0805064591
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks

Summary

It wasn't the airplane that first romanced the public's imagination at the dawn of the twentieth century, but the great airships known as dirigibles, or zeppelins. Championing this great leap into the technological future was a visionary German entrepreneur, Dr. Hugo Eckener. For Eckener, the development of the airship, especially coming in the aftermath of the First World War, represented an opportunity to shrink the world through safe and speedy international travel. Douglas Botting's engrossing story vividly recaptures the spirit of the times, when new technologies in communication, transportation, manufacturing, and other areas were revolutionizing society. The airship reached its apotheosis with the round-the-world flight of theGraf Zeppelinin 1929. They were a source of wonder wherever they flew, and Eckener was likened to Christopher Columbus, hailed around the world as the great explorer of his day.

Author Biography

Douglas Botting is a writer, journalist, and biographer. His previous works include Gerald Durell: The Authorized Biography, The Saga of the Ring of Bright Water: The Enigma of Gavin Maxwell, and several travel guides. He lives near London.

Table of Contents

Map	p. xii
Diagram: The Structure of the Graf Zeppelin	p. xiv
Preface	p. xv
Prologue: On First Sighting the Dream Machine	p. 1
The Dream Machine	p. 3
The Dreamer and the Dream	p. 25
The Dream Becomes a Nightmare	p. 62
Dreaming of America	p. 91
The Dream Voyage	p. 149
The Dream Becomes Reality	p. 200
The End of the Dream	p. 248
Epilogue	p. 295
Bibliography	p. 305
Acknowledgments	p. 315
Index	p. 317
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