Monsters

"Regis's account of the [Hindeburg]'s final flight makes for gripping reading."

"A must for any aeronautical history buff, this book is as readable and entertaining as a high octane spy thriller and as informative as a semesters worth of graduate level seminars. Regis is a gifted writer with empathy for his subjects, even if they do sound bonkers."

"Wonderful.... One of the most readable accounts of airship history that has recently been published."

"Much more than another book about the Hindenburg disaster."

"An engaging history of humankind's technological hubris."

"Fascinating.... A fine history of Zeppelin and his disastrous airships."

"A fine account of the rigid airship and...a thoughtful meditation on out-of-control technology."

"Monsters is both a fascinating historical narrative and a wakeup call to the dangers of technologies that capture our collective imagination--but come with staggering risks that seem obvious only in retrospect. As we move into an era of rapid advance in fields like genetic engineering, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence, the forgotten lessons from technology's past are sure to become ever more relevant."

"Ed Regis has written an important book, one that should be required reading for scientists, engineers, politicians, and policy-makers pursuing The Next Big Thing. Focusing on the alluring and tragic Hindenburg, but examining as well such costly projects as the abandoned Superconducting Supercollider, Project Plowshare (earth moving using nuclear bombs!) and proposed "Space Arks" roaming the Cosmos, Regis shows how fascination with ill-considered mega-technology has generated both waste and human tragedy. This is a sobering yet fascinating picture of the human and material costs incurred when the unchecked dreams of zealots run amok."