Lighter Than Air

This book the best I have seen for the history of the airship. It covers the same ground as most airship histories, but covers it in more detail leading to a very different interpretaton of the events. Just one example: The Mongofiler brothers had no idea that their balloon ran on hot air. They thought that their smoky fire produced another kind of light gas, similar to hydrogen. Another great feature of this book are the number of direct quotes from original sources. You really appreciate history when you hear from those who lived it. The book is well illustrated, with drawings where no photos exist, and with tons of photographs. Many airships that are illustrated with drawings in other books are shown as photographs in this one, making the ships all the more real to the modern reader. There is a lot of information on modern airship developments, too. All and all, an amazing book. It manages both wide and deep coverage of the subject.