The Robert Wichard Pohl letters, which are the basis of this book, have never before been translated or published.Pohl provides a rare personal account of life aboard a WWI airshipThis was the first flight to exceed 100 hours, and to prove that Zeppelins were, indeed, capable of flying across the Atlantic Ocean.

A carving of General Lee on the back of the Lincoln monument, the birth of lobbying at the Willard Hotel, a romantic gesture that built the distinctive homes of Capitol Hill--these are legends of Washington, D.C. The capital is home to all manner of colorful rumors and tall tales. According to local lore, the missing J Street was L'Enfant's snub to Supreme Court justice John Jay, and the course of history could have been changed if only a young baseball player named Fidel Castro had accept...

"Chronicles some of Capitol Hill's most legendary scandals, ranging from duels to murder to sex" ( Roll Call).Local historian and Walking Shtick tour guide Robert S. Pohl brings us Wicked Capitol Hill. Pohl includes such historic crimes as the affair between the congressman and the Capitol Hill cobbler's daughter that ended in murder at the hands of the press. Tales range from the backrooms of Congress and the docks of the Naval ...

The incredible story of spaceflight before the establishment of NASA.NASA's history is a familiar story, one that typically peaks with Neil Armstrong taking his small step on the Moon in 1969. But America's space agency wasn't created in a vacuum. It was assembled from pre-existing parts, drawing together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer.In the 1930s, rockets were all the rage in Germany, the focus both of scientists hoping to fly in...

This biography of the WWI fighter pilot offers "an intimate portrait of the last recipient of the 'Blue Max'" (Barrett Tillman).One of the most noteworthy German fighter pilots of World War I was Leutnant der Reserve Carl Degelow, whose squadron of mostly black Fokker D.VII fighters posed a formidable threat to some of Britain's most celebrated air units on the Western Front.Black Fokker Leader, filled with new information and original photos, is b...

This book provides up-to-date insight into the notorious German unit, JV 44, its numerous aces and its stunning success with the revolutionary Me 262 during the last dramatic months of World War 2.There was no Luftwaffe fighter unit like Jagdverband 44. Formed in February 1945, the unit grew out of Hitler's bizarre decision that the Me 262 jet fighter should be used as a bomber, despite its potential in the daylight defensive battles over the Reich. Seen as a grave...

"Well-written and holds the reader's attention . . . an engaging book and a rare personal view of flying one of the most iconic aircraft of WWII." — FiretrenchAfter recounting his early days as a naval cadet, including a voyage to the Far East aboard the cruiser Köln and as the navigator/observer of the floatplane carried by the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer during the Spanish Civil War, Helmut Mahlke describes his flying training as a Stuka pilot....

"A truly remarkable story . . . Marc Stevens has produced a fitting tribute to his father . . . who played a full part in the defeat of Nazi Germany." —HistoryOfWar.orgPeter Stevens was a German-Jewish refugee who escaped Nazi persecution as a teenager in 1933. He joined the RAF in 1939 and after eighteen months of pilot training he started flying bombing missions against his own country. He completed twenty-two missions before being shot down and taken prisoner by ...

Curator and space historian at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum delivers a brilliantly nuanced biography of controversial space pioneer Wernher von Braun.Chief rocket engineer of the Third Reich and one of the fathers of the U.S. space program, Wernher von Braun is a source of consistent fascination. Glorified as a visionary and vilified as a war criminal, he was a man of profound moral complexities, whose intelligence and charisma were coupled with ...

The 'storm troopers' of the Luftwaffe, the elite Sturmgruppen units comprised the most heavily armed and armoured fighter interceptors ever produced by the Germans.Their role was to smash like a mighty fist through the massed ranks of USAAF daylight bombers. Only volunteers could serve with these elite units, and each pilot was trained to close with the enemy and engage him in extremely short-range combat, attacking from the front and the rear in tight arrowhead fo...

Written by veteran aerospace journalist Bob Ward, who spent years investigating his subject, this biography presents a revealing but even-handed portrait of the father of modern rocketry. As he chronicles Werner von Braun's life, Ward explodes many myths and misconceptions about the controversial genius who was a hero to some, a villain to others. The picture of von Braun that emerges is of a brilliant scientist with limitless curiosity and a drive to achieve his goals at almost any price—...

At 800-feet long, the Hindenburg was the largest airship ever built--just slightly smaller than the Titanic! Also of a disastrous end, the zeppelin burst into flame as spectators watched it attempt to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937. In under a minute, the Hindenburg was gone, people jumping from windows to escape. However, only 62 of the 97 crew members and passengers onboard survived. The exact cause of the disaster is still unknown and remains a fascinating historical myste...