I'm not sure what led me to this book—I'm definitely not the target market, and I don't read a ton of nonfiction these days—but I did really enjoy it. Empires of the Sky quite an entertaining nonfiction epic with pretty incredible characters. It's a smart read, for sure, and I love how it's ultimately about ambition and what humans are willing to do to overcome obstacles in life. Again, I am not an airship enthusiast, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Thank you Random House for the free book. I was absolutely fascinated by this history of early commercial aviation, although Rose really could have just focused on the Zeppelin side of the air race and had more than enough material for a meaty book. Biggest learning: everybody knows about the Hindenburg, but Zeppelins crashed and burned all the damn time! The Germans just couldn't give them up, and the Americans wouldn't sell them the helium to make them safer.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is a long and detailed history of early aviation with heavy emphasis on lighter than air dirigibles built by Germany. The author writes dispassionately about the significant events of the time. These include the Wright Brothers first flight, the Zeppelin bombings of Britain, the growth of Pan Am, and, of course, the Hindenburg disaster. The author switches seamlessly between the various leading actors in the drama on both sides of the Atlantic, primarily von Zeppelin and Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan Am. A very informative and enjoyable read.

Whatever your preferred moniker-- blimps, Zeppelins, dirigibles--they have always fascinated me. It may have started on the chance viewing of one floating through the sky, or perhaps in the iconic Disney Silly Symphony cartoon when the small Zeppelin flies around the Christmas tree. Naturally, I was drawn to this new history, which puts blimps into a general aviation context; the author has done extensive research into the history of aviation, with references to such pioneers as Tripp, Lindbergh, and Sikorsky. It's very readable book that anyone with an interest in aviation, not just blimp-o-philes, would undoubtedly find quite interesting. Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for this ARC.