This book, published in 1999, is an addition to the author's Battlebags. That was about British airships of the First World War; this one is about airships of all nations up to the present day, indeed the author says that it is not about war at all. Having said that, it is a fascinating, well illustrated and informative book, especially for anyone like me who has always been interested in these lighter than air craft. Very few of the photographs in Battlebags have been reproduced here and much new information is in the text as well. I also like the relaxed style in which this is written and had many a chuckle reading it. 

But I do have a major gripe: in this book, the stars are the craft themselves, and not, as the title implies, the crew that manned them. And, goodness knows, they were stars. During the War there was never a shortage of volunteers to man airships on either side in spite of horrendous losses. Why not? Was it because they felt themselves to be an elite? Was it because of the stringent discipline, especially on the German side, or was it just naval insouciance? Too little is revealed about these wonderfully brave men as individuals. I would so much have liked to have read more about the men, their backgrounds and thoughts, their families and friends. 

Nearer the present day, there is not enough about the Skyships, in one of which I had a memorable flight over London in the eighties. The pilot had been an Insurance Broker at Lloyd's, and took us round, not over, the new Richard Rogers' designed building 'for fun'. He was a character, and so was Alan Bond, the Australian who finally rescued the Skyships Company, won the Americas Cup and went to prison. More of that sort of thing I would have liked. This book to me is tantalisingly near to what I wanted. 

Ces Mowthorpe is undoubtedly our leading expert in this field. I look forward to his next offering.