Tag Archive: pine barrens

Bigfoot in New Jersey?

It goes without saying that I have an interest in the New Jersey lore and history. You don’t tackle a book like Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps & Barons without a strong interest in what goes on off the beaten path here in the Garden State. I especially like the odd, offbeat stuff you’ll find in legendary local magazines like Weird NJ or in regional classics like The Jersey Devil (a book I’ve probably read four times). Folks outside the state only seem to know the stretch between New York and Newark airport, but those of us in the state know New Jersey has a healthy dose of weirdness. Which brings me to Bigfoot in the New Jersey ‘Burbs, a new book by William Taylor that delves…
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75 years ago today

The following is excerpted from my book Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps and Barons. Seventy-five years ago today, fire rained down from the sky when the great airship Hindenburg exploded into a ball of flame over Lakehurst on May 6, 1937, in the process leaving an unforgettable mark on history. To this day, it remains the largest vessel ever to take to the skies. It was over 800 feet long; as long as two football fields and the majority of a third. Despite its stunning bulk, it routinely made the flight from Germany to Lakehurst, NJ in a mere two days while carrying scores of passengers. The Hindenburg was a Nazi vessel, constructed by the Germans in 1935 as the crowning jewel of its vast fleet of zeppelins. From the very start…
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Always thrilling when someone reads your work, but…

… nothing has been as personally gratifying as the response to my book on Lakehurst. I’ve written about legendary film directors, relationships, geek culture and more, but this is something special to me — and it’s made even more special by the fact that old friends, teachers, people I knew in my youth, their parents, and many others are getting it and are interested in it and are reading it. I’ve gotten random calls at home, emails from people I’ve never met, invitations to do presentations and interviews, requests to sign books for the holidays, and more. Considering I just sort of quietly slipped it out there at the last minute, no adverting or promotion outside this blog and Facebook, the positive response has been…
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