Given its size, this is a remarkably detailed history of the airship from the earliest attempts, usually involving oars, up to the present day. Developments up to the first World War are by the person concerned, subsequent ones being by country - namely Germany, Britain, France, Italy, the USA and the Soviet Union. Highly readable and well illustrated, this is a testament to a dream which was always a triumph of optimism over reality, especially in the days before helium. 160 paperback pages. The History Press