Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Prelude to War

The gripping, definitive history of the Hindenburg disaster, the rise of the Nazis, and the road to World War II as never before told. On the evening of May 6, 1937, the majestic German Zeppelin Hindenburg arrived before cheering crowds in Lakehurst, New Jersey, when suddenly, a titanic inferno lit up the sky. Thirty-four seconds later, the greatest aircraft ever to take flight was gone, destroyed in a ferocious blaze and seared into historical memory forever. The Hindenburg disaster is one of the 20th Century’s most iconic yet elusive events—a moment everyone knows but few can place. Acclaimed historian Catherine Grace Katz unites ground-breaking research with thrilling narrative that situates this famous disaster squarely on the collision course between the decade’s two prevailing currents. The Hindenburg began as a symbol of hope and progress, a gleaming technological marvel in the nascent age of