RMWF Writers Series: Catherine Grace Katz • Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Prelude to War

This is a Premier Program. All residents of Rancho Mirage and donors who contribute $100 or more annually to the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory Foundation can take advantage of priority seating for Premier programs by arriving early.

Her new book, Shadow Before the Flame, is a gripping, definitive history of the Hindenburg disaster, the rise of the Nazis, and the road to World War II as never before told.

On the evening of May 6, 1937, the majestic German zeppelin Hindenburg arrived before cheering crowds in Lakehurst, New Jersey, when suddenly, a titanic inferno lit up the sky. Thirty-four seconds later, the greatest airship ever to take flight was gone, destroyed in a ferocious blaze and eternally seared into historical memory. Acclaimed historian Catherine Grace Katz unites groundbreaking research with thrilling narrative that situates this famous disaster squarely on the collision course between the decade’s two prevailing currents. The Hindenburg began as a symbol of hope and progress, a gleaming technological marvel in the nascent age of aviation. But soon, the airship of dreams became a propaganda tool powering the rising Nazi regime. In this sweeping drama, Katz illustrates the story of the Hindenburg through the captivating passengers and crew caught in the grip of fate: an adventurous heiress, a renowned vaudeville star, a Chicago industrialist with German Jewish roots, an esteemed zeppelin captain and a young cabin boy on his first voyage to the United States.

Catherine Grace Katz is a writer and historian from Chicago. She graduated from Harvard with a BA in history and received her MPhil in modern European history from Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, where she wrote her dissertation on the origins of modern counterintelligence practices.

Her new book, Shadow Before the Flame, is a gripping, definitive history of the Hindenburg disaster, the rise of the Nazis, and the road to World War II as never before told.

The first 200 people at this event will receive a FREE copy of Shadow Before the Flame.