Airshipmen Businessmen and Politics 1890-1940
Meyer, Henry Cord
First Edition
Rigid airships, the first aircraft capable of crossing the oceans with signficant numbcrs of passengers and cargo, captured the public's imagination and the attention of many who saw in the dirigible a chance to expand their own ambitions, whether personal, political, military, or commercial.
Drawing on governmental, Company, and private archives from Germany, England, and the United States, Henry Cord Mever shows how politicians and airship Company executives with ulterior motives exploited public enthusiasm as well as feelings of nationalism.
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin used his invention to enhance German military power and assure his nation's preeminence in early twentieth-century Europe - as well as to restore his personal honor after political enemies shattered his military career. Considering himself superior in technological competence to Count Zeppelin and seeking the same public acclaim, Johann Schütte created a rival construction firm that was responsible for significant technical improvements in airship design. Dr. Hugo Eckener, who dedicated himself to resurrecting the zeppelin for peaceful commerce, manipulated such public relations events as polar exploration to maintain German prestige through airship development. Perhaps inspired by the opportunities for rechnological innovation and the promise of multimillion-dollar rewards, Henry Ford had a little-known quixotic flirtation with airship construction before he moved fully into the construction of all-metal airplanes.
"Airshipmen, Businessmen, and Politics, 1890— 1940" includes ninety-four illustrations and photographs, many of them published in the United States for the first time. Primarily focused on the human drama, the book illuminates the personalities of the many airship developers who have been overshadowed by the glamour of the pioneers or the spectacle of airship disasters. Each man profiled in the book is ultimately seen caught up positively, or enmeshed tragically, in the larger political forces of his time.
Hardcover with dust jacket, large format
273 Seiten / pages
many photos
very good condition
Washington - London - 1991 - Smithsonian Institution Press
Art.Nr. 14545
