CM . . . . Volume XVIII Number 41. . . .June 22, 2012 Had things
turned out differently on that fateful day, 6 May 1937, perhaps
the next time we travel abroad, we would be doing so inside a
giant zeppelin airship instead of a jumbo jet. In Larry
Verstraete’s new book, Surviving the Hindenburg, we read why
that is not the case. In 1937, zeppelins were an increasingly
popular and luxurious form of overseas travel. Were it not for
the Hindenburg accident, money and resources would likely have
continued to be invested into their development, but the
disaster left people with understandable fear of that mode of
transport. Surviving the Hindenburg focuses on the experiences
of the youngest crew member aboard the Hindenburg at the time of
the disaster. Verstraete’s focus on the experience of a child is
a good means of helping young readers to understand and relate
to the drama and tragedy of that day. Werner Franz was 14 years
of age and serving as a cabin boy as the airship made its three
day journey from Germany