Empires of the Sky by Alexander Rose

7.5 out of 10

In the nineteenth century, most people considered human flight to be impossible.  By the early twentieth, the race was on to dominate air travel.  At the forefront was Count von Zeppelin's airship manufacturing company.  In the First World War, Germany tried to use Zeppelins for recondense and bomb-dropping, but they were a big slow-moving liability.  Harsh on the Germans, the Treaty of Versailles nearly ended all airship production.  Zeppelin partnered with Goodyear in America.  In the USA, the Wright Brothers pioneered airplanes.  Quickly after that companies like Pan Am were flying commercial fleets all over the world.  Ultimately, the planes proved to be faster and more profitable.