Contents: Acknowledgments Introduction: Visions of the Sublime 1 Balloons into Dirigibles The Floating State From Enthusiasm to Obsession: The First Zeppelin Building a Zeppelin Culture Collapse and Recovery 2 The Machine above the Garden: Airship Culture in Imperial Germany Zeppelinism and Its Expressions How German Is It? Finding a Use for the Airship 3 Zeppelin Reality and Myth in the Great War Zeppelinitis Technology and War Planning Demonizing the Dirigible Fantasy and Fact of Zeppelin Operations 4 The Airship as a Business Tool in Weimar Culture Rescuing the Airship from Oblivion Nostalgia and Fund-raising Symbol in the Best and Worst of Times 5 Ideologies of Science and Adventure: The Artic Airship Polar Dreams Conflicting Projects Selling Science as Entertainment 6 Political Zeppelinism: Manipulating Airship Culture, 1933-1939 Nazifying the Airship Airship Travel Comes of Age Helium, Hydrogen, and Humble Endings Conclusion List of Abbreviations Notes Essay on Sources and Methods Index
A well-written and stimulating study of the Zeppelin in German culture and a valuable contribution to the social history of technology. -- Mike Neufeld, National Air and Space Museum
Guillaume de Syon is an associate professor of history at Albright College and a history research associate at Franklin and Marshall College.
A fascinating case study of the intersection of technology and culture [which] concentrates on the question of why the Zeppelin exercised such a powerful influence on the popular imagination. De Syon uses interesting contemporary photographs and cartoons to support his argument. -- Gordon A. Craig New York Review of Books In this comprehensive work, Guillaume de Syon manages to express in clear and concise terms the importance of the zeppelin to Germany and the rest of the Western world... Zeppelin! fills the gap in the history of powered lighter-than-air flight, as well as in the history of early flight's effects on culture. -- Carl Bobrow Air and Space Magazine De Syon presents an engaging book that examines the meaning of the Zeppelin for the German collective mentality. He explains why, for a certain time, the airship seemed to embody an almost ideal combination of German 'culture' and technological modernism. De Syon analyzes the emergence and modification of the Zeppelin's 'popular imagination.' Theoretically his book is based on scholarly work on symbolic roles of technology, while empirically it draws upon a huge quantity of sources that in this respect have not been previously examined... The author establishes very clearly that the Zeppelin was most effective on the symbolic and psychological level, whereas its practical potential was more limited... De Syon's sound considerations inspire further discussions. -- Detlef Siegfried American Historical Review Zeppelin! imparts the feeling of a youthful enthusiastic author, who must have begun his research, if not obsession, while still young. De Syon has produced a charming, factually complete history of the machine and the 'Zeppelin sublime.'. -- John Mosher History: Reviews of News Books In Zeppelin! Guillaume de Syon offers a captivating history of this technological wonder, from development and production to its impact on German culture and society. WWI Aero This book departs from the usual emphasis in such works on the technical side of rigid airships and their uses in peace and war. Instead, the author emphasizes the impact of Count Zeppelin's invention on mass psychology, one so great that his very name became a synonym for the rigid dirigible... De Syon demolishes the myth that Count Zeppelin regretted the use of the airship as a weapon of war and shows that to his death in 1917 he was embraced by the government and most Germans as a heroic warrior. -- Larry H. Addington Journal of Military History A most readable history covering not only the technical development and production of the 119 Zeppelins built, but how they were used in War and Peace. -- Arnold W.L. Nayler Airship De Syon has given us a fascinating study of technology's role in developing German nationalism and popular culture. -- Arnold Kramer German Studies Review Zeppelin! is an authoritative history of the German airship both as a sublime technology and a symbolic touchstone. It adds much to our understanding of technology's role in shaping Germans' visions of themselves and their nation. -- Scott W. Palmer Technology and Culture German nationalism has become a distasteful subject because of the Nazi period, but de Syon's most intriguing and original contribution here is to show how varied 'Germandom' could be over time... Very stimulating symbolic analysis in de Syon's well-written book. There is something here for popular enthusiasts of the history of flight as well as material that will stimulate further research. -- Michael Thad Allen H-German, H-Net Reviews Of value for anyone interested in aviation, the Great War, and the inter-war period. NYMAS Review
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