“The Hindenburg disaster is one of the 20th century’s most iconic yet elusive events—a moment everyone knows but few can place.” So says historian Catherine Grace Katz, whose new book, Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Prelude to War (Viking, Sept. 22), succeeds in contextualizing the famous disaster within an “expansive, illuminating history of the interwar years,” according to our starred review. Katz answered our questions via email.

Tell readers, briefly, about your book.

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 aircraft ever to take flight was gone, destroyed in a ferocious blaze and seared into historical memory forever.

In this story, geopolitical turmoil and humanity meet head-to-head, and, for too long, the stories of the passengers and crew who traveled on the last flight of the doomed zeppelin have been lost to history. Meanwhile, on the ground, two intrepid journalists reporting on the Hindenburg fundamentally changed breaking news, paving the way for modern media as we know it. 

Shadow Before the Flame offers a portrait of an era—when illusions of peace fueled by the hubris of invention hovered in suspended time—as the clouds of an inevitable war loomed on the horizon. Above all, it is a story of humanity and lives forever changed by a moment that served as a warning for a much bigger, global catastrophe yet to come.

Would you say something about your research?

Perhaps the most remarkable part of my research was the chance to visit with the daughter of one of the passengers. She is now in her 90s but was there at Lakehurst, with the rest of her family, waiting for her father, a vaudeville star and acrobat, to disembark from the Hindenburg when she saw the disaster take place right in front of her. Listening to her speak about the indelible impression that moment made on her as a little girl, one that has, of course, lasted her entire life, was something I will never forget. She still has her father’s binoculars and camera that were rescued from the wreckage (with his films astoundingly still intact), and, even now, 90 years later, their cases still smell like smoke.

Where and when did you write? Describe the scene, the time of day, the necessary accoutrements or talismans.

Ideally, my writing day is not dissimilar to a school day.  I do my best writing in the morning (not too early), and I write for a number of hours before breaking for my daily PB&J sandwich (Jif, Welch’s, cut in triangles). After lunch, I take care of emails, errands, and exercise in the early evening, almost like I have practice for a sport after school. I will often write again in the evening after dinner during “homework” time.

However, while writing this book, I was also working full time as an associate at a Big Law firm—so much of the writing was condensed into nights and weekends. It’s amazing what you can do with snatches of time!

What fall releases are you most excited to get your hands on?

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of Nathaniel Philbrick’s new book, The Rush, about the California Gold Rush and the road to the Civil War, which was fantastic. [I’m also looking forward to] Evan Thomas’ The Hour Strikes [and my] good friend Joel Nelson’s debut work, Kennedy’s Only Hero.

Nina Palattella is the senior editorial assistant.