Wayne Biddle Livres

A 1991 New York Times Notable Book of the Year This panoramic history of the rise of the American aerospace industry traces the careers of the men whose names became synonymous with today's military-industrial Glenn Martin of Martin Marietta, Donald Douglas of McDonnell Douglas, Jack Northrop of Northrop, and Allan and Malcolm Loughead of Lockheed. Weaving together institutional history and individual biography, Wayne Biddle depicts the years of uncertainty after World War I, the bonanza of World War II, and the cutthroat postwar market. Unlike the automobile industry, the aircraft industry could never be sustained by the middle-class consumer economy, and these legendary founders had to depend on the federal government to keep their companies aloft. Barons of the Sky tells a thrilling story of obsessed men who, chasing their dreams of flight and success, created the modern aerospace weapons industry.

Contagious diseases are increasingly challenging modern medicine, as evidenced by the Ebola virus in Zaire, pneumonic plague outbreaks in India, and drug-resistant TB in New York City. The resurgence of these illnesses has heightened public anxiety, fueled by media coverage of emerging and reemerging pathogens. This book explores the implications of these threats to global health and the ongoing battle against infectious diseases.

An investigation into the origins of the first moon landing evaluates ideas sparked by the modernism of the Third Reich while tracing the life of scientist Wernher von Braun, describing how his driving ambitions directly contributed to weapons development, the early space program, and Cold War culture.

Wayne Biddle, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist known for his reporting on the Star Wars antimissile project, has authored several acclaimed books, including the award-winning A Field Guide to Germs and the New York Times Editor's Choice Dark Side of the Moon. In addition to his writing, he shares his expertise as a teacher at Johns Hopkins University, contributing to the fields of journalism and science communication.