When Giants Ruled the Sky: The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the Rigid American Airship

Few people realize that prior to the Hindenburg, airships transported thousands of paying passengers millions of miles without a single casualty. And they did so, for more than 20 years--a safety record unmatched by any other form of transportation. John's talk focuses on the true but little-known story of the USS Macon (ZRS-5), a U.S. Navy Zeppelin that was the world’s largest, most expensive, most technologically advanced aircraft of her day. He reveals for the first time anywhere how the American Zeppelin came within a hair’s breadth of replacing planes, trains, and ocean liners as the dominant form of long-distance transportation–a tale of physical courage, ugly politicking, two egregious disasters, and a Navy coverup.