Airplanes, Helicopters & Aircraft, Balloons & Airships

The Hindenburg

Name: The Hindenburg
Author: Patrick O'Brien
ISBN: 9780805064155

by Patrick O'Brien

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Overview

A dramatic, vividly illustrated look at the tragic ship whose fiery crash ended the age of the dirigible.

Like a fabulous silvery fish, floating quietly in the ocean of air ... it seemed to be coming from another world and to be returning there like a dream.

On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg, the largest and fastest airship ever built, exploded in a tremendous ball of fire as it came to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey. It was one of the most spectacular disasters of the twentieth century, and in a single moment ended the era of the majestic dirigible airships.

For thirty-seven years before the Hindenburg tragedy, the gigantic airships of the Zeppelin Company captivated the world as they carried thousands of passengers on luxurious transatlantic voyages. Some dreamed that the steerable, gas-filled "zeppelins," invented three years before the airplane, would fill the skies as the unrivaled way to travel over the ocean. That dream ended with the Hindenburg.

Readers of all ages will enjoy this fascinating look at the Hindenburg and the magical age of the Zeppelin airships.

Describes the development and early flights of airships and the disastrous crash of the Hindenburg at an airfield in New Jersey in 1937.

About the Author, Patrick O'Brien

Patrick O'Brien has illustrated several picture books, including Gigantic! (which he also wrote). He lives with his wife in Baltimore, Maryland.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

O'Brien (Gigantic: How Big Were the Dinosaurs?) captures readers' attention by opening his crisp history of this ill-fated airship with its explosion on May 6, 1937, over a New Jersey airfield. The narrative then shifts to 1900, when Hugo Eckener, the German who would go on to design the Hindenburg, falls "under the spell" of his countryman Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who has just invented the first dirigible. After documenting the use of these airships as bombers in WWI, the author succinctly recounts the evolution of this technology, the creation of the Graf Zeppelin (a luxury craft that Eckener piloted around the world in 1929) and the engineering and construction of the Hindenburg. O'Brien's lifelike watercolor and gouache paintings pack as much drama as the story he tells: he presents such memorable images as the immense airship serenely approaching Rio de Janeiro at sunset and a chilling view of the Hindenburg--on its last journey--cruising over icebergs, close to the very spot where the Titanic sank 25 years earlier. Then, in his buildup to the climax, O'Brien ends one spread with, "There was no warning of what was about to happen," and readers turn the page for a spectacular wordless full-bleed spread of the fiery explosion. The author wraps up this absorbing account with some fascinating facts (e.g., the tower on the top of the Empire State Building was built as a dirigible mooring mast, which was never used). Ages 7-10. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-O'Brien relates the development of airships from their invention by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin to the Hindenburg's fateful mid-air explosion in 1937. The use of muted colors in the watercolor-and-gouache illustrations gives the book an authentic, documentary look. When bright colors are used to highlight the hated Nazi flag and for the final explosion, they create an impact. Frequent dramatic perspectives highlight size. The intertwining of the career of Hugo Eckener, dirigible pilot and Zeppelin Company director, with that of the airships' development is an effective narrative device as it helps to personalize the story and make the final tragedy more intimate. This finely illustrated effort makes a worthy introduction for students.-Steve Clancy, Colonial Village Elementary School, Niagara Falls, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.