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When Giants Ruled the Sky: The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the American Rigid Airship
Nearly everything people know about airships is wrong. Few realize that prior to the Hindenburg disaster airships transported passengers without a single casualty for more than 20 years, a record unmatched by any other form of transportation. When Giants Ruled the Sky tells the true but little-known story of the USS Macon (ZRS-5), the world’s largest, most expensive and most technologically advanced airship of her day, and the four men responsible for conceiving, designing, building, and flying her. In doing so it reveals how the American airship came within a hair’s breadth of replacing planes, trains, and ocean liners as the dominant form of long-distance transportation, and exactly what went wrong, a tale of physical courage, engineering acumen, ugly politicking and two egregious disasters.
464 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 9, 2023
I saw this browsing the shelves at the library and had to read it. As I cracked the cover I had buyer's remorse and thought Why am I reading this? (Geoghegan covers that question in the Intro but I'll admit I skipped the Intro). 370 pages of actual content, the crash of the USS Akron sucked me in, it then covers many details of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the US Navy and briefly the airship industry overall before the launch and inevitable crash of USS Macon.
I learned what LTA/HTA means (lighter-than-air/heavier) and the difference between a rigid airship and a blimp. Discovered the word dirigible. And was enlightened by just how much the Navy will whitewash accidents to cover their own reputation. It's indisputable to me that the USS Macon crashed because of Fulton's negligence in expediting repairs and Lt. Cpt. Wiley's reluctance to ground the ship for the appropriate time to complete the repairs. Mr. Geoghegan places partial blame on Goodyear's own Dr. Arnstein but he did everything in his own power to the point of threatening the loss of his job to get the Macon repaired. Frame 17.5 is its own character and is mentioned countless times. Wiley chasing down the President on the USS Houston was fascinating.
I learned why airships aren't used much any more - a lot of them crash! They're expensive to maintain, helium continues to be in a short supply to this very day. Fun Fact: the Navy refusing helium to the Hindenburg was partially responsible for its hydrogen fueled fire. Their technology was surpassed by HTA.
The text can be very repetitive at times - in the case of Frame 17.5, but at times it's warranted such as in the beginning when mentioned over and over airships aren't meant to fly in very bad weather.
It discusses how private sector airship innovation wouldn't have been possible without the Navy and it still holds true today with other industries. We miss sight of the military's private sector collaboration on new ideas that impact all of us in a way. It also explores lobbying and its influence on the military and congress' decisions for budgeting.
I left 1 star off because this book is subtitled The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the American Rigid Airship. That is misleading. This book is broken into four parts - Part I is almost exclusively the crash and resulting investigations of the USS Akron. Parts III and IV are almost exclusively the Macon and it's similarities to the Akron. I would have enjoyed this much more had there been equal text committed to the USS Los Angeles and the USS Shenandoah. It could have further discussed the successes of the Los Angeles - the sole airship of the four to not result in a crash. I would've very much appreciated more coverage of the ZMC-2, the only full metal clad airship employed by the Navy. I wondered why this book wasn't titled "The USS Akron & USS Macon" but Geoghegan notes near the end that's already the title of a separate book.
Goodyear Rubber & Tire Co's role in this story was one of my favorite parts. I buy Goodyear tires for my vehicle and am mesmerized by the Goodyear blimps (separate from a rigid airship I've learned!) still flying to this very day.
I learned what LTA/HTA means (lighter-than-air/heavier) and the difference between a rigid airship and a blimp. Discovered the word dirigible. And was enlightened by just how much the Navy will whitewash accidents to cover their own reputation. It's indisputable to me that the USS Macon crashed because of Fulton's negligence in expediting repairs and Lt. Cpt. Wiley's reluctance to ground the ship for the appropriate time to complete the repairs. Mr. Geoghegan places partial blame on Goodyear's own Dr. Arnstein but he did everything in his own power to the point of threatening the loss of his job to get the Macon repaired. Frame 17.5 is its own character and is mentioned countless times. Wiley chasing down the President on the USS Houston was fascinating.
I learned why airships aren't used much any more - a lot of them crash! They're expensive to maintain, helium continues to be in a short supply to this very day. Fun Fact: the Navy refusing helium to the Hindenburg was partially responsible for its hydrogen fueled fire. Their technology was surpassed by HTA.
The text can be very repetitive at times - in the case of Frame 17.5, but at times it's warranted such as in the beginning when mentioned over and over airships aren't meant to fly in very bad weather.
It discusses how private sector airship innovation wouldn't have been possible without the Navy and it still holds true today with other industries. We miss sight of the military's private sector collaboration on new ideas that impact all of us in a way. It also explores lobbying and its influence on the military and congress' decisions for budgeting.
I left 1 star off because this book is subtitled The Brief Reign and Tragic Demise of the American Rigid Airship. That is misleading. This book is broken into four parts - Part I is almost exclusively the crash and resulting investigations of the USS Akron. Parts III and IV are almost exclusively the Macon and it's similarities to the Akron. I would have enjoyed this much more had there been equal text committed to the USS Los Angeles and the USS Shenandoah. It could have further discussed the successes of the Los Angeles - the sole airship of the four to not result in a crash. I would've very much appreciated more coverage of the ZMC-2, the only full metal clad airship employed by the Navy. I wondered why this book wasn't titled "The USS Akron & USS Macon" but Geoghegan notes near the end that's already the title of a separate book.
Goodyear Rubber & Tire Co's role in this story was one of my favorite parts. I buy Goodyear tires for my vehicle and am mesmerized by the Goodyear blimps (separate from a rigid airship I've learned!) still flying to this very day.
February 2, 2025
An interesting overview of the US Navy's big rigid airship program, with a focus on the Akron and Macon. The book discusses the technical aspects of the aircraft (and their failure), their use, operations as well as the politics and personalities behind the program. It does tend to focus on the crashes, their causes, and the political fallout.
While occasionally a bit dry, overall I found this to be a fascinating account. Geoghegan brought the men behind the airship program to life. I wish there was a bit more discussion of the metal clad airship though.
While occasionally a bit dry, overall I found this to be a fascinating account. Geoghegan brought the men behind the airship program to life. I wish there was a bit more discussion of the metal clad airship though.
October 1, 2023
While I am in no way a history buff, a military nerd, nor an aviation admirer, I found this summary of the rigid airship history, politics, and frankly drama to be thorough in detail yet entertaining in nature. I have recommended this book to my fellow volunteers at the lighthouse near the crash site of the Macon and would recommend this to anyone curious about dirigibles, flight history, or even just the big metal cage on 101N in Sunnyvale.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews