Michael H. Gorn is an author and historian who specializes in popular and scholarly books about the history of aeronautics and spaceflight. Three of his critically acclaimed works are NASA: The Complete Illustrated History, Superstructures in Space (both by Merrell Publishers), and Expanding the Envelope: Flight Research at NACA and NASA (The University Press of Kentucky). Gorn grew up in Los Angeles, California, and attended the University of Southern California where he earned a doctorate in history. He is presently a Smithsonian Institution Research Associate in the Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. A federal historian for nearly 30 years, he began his career in 1981 with the Department of the Air Force in Washington, D.C. He held a variety of staff and management positions over 13 years, culminating in Deputy Chief Historian of the U. S. Air Force. He also served for three years as the first historian of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. Gorn then worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for 13 years, eventually becoming the Chief Historian of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, the world's leading facility for the study of flight dynamics. Michael Gorn is the recipient of the prestigious Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award for Expanding the Envelope: Flight Research at NACA and NASA, presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for the best original book published in the field during the previous five years. In addition, he received the Alfred V. Verville Fellowship from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and was selected for the Fellowship in Aerospace History by the American Historical Association. Gorn has been featured in interviews appearing on the British Broadcasting Corporation, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel. Michael Gorn lives with his wife Christine in Simi Valley, California.VISIT MICHAEL GORN'S NEW BLOG!! March 25, 2013: Michael Gorn has just opened a blog dedicated to the history of aeronautics and spaceflight. Called flighthistory, it is available at:http://flighthistory.wordpress.com/