Jacobson provides a comprehensive overview of this spectacular industry, allowing everyone on Earth to understand the integral role space plays in our lives, how it will continue to transform the world, and how you could participate.In the vein of Mary Roach, Jacobson makes a complex topic easily understandable—and accessible—for every reader.Space as an industry offers a triple bottom line: Return on Investment, Innovation, and Inspiration.INVESTMENTImagine if you had the opportunity to invest in Apple when it was new and undiscovered—would you do it?Space is a culmination of many disciplines, and it works in tandem with various industries. The sector’s growth depends on merging different fields with cutting-edge technologies, fantastical ideas with logical applications.Investors, including John Doerr, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia, RRE, Bessemer Venture Partners, First Round, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, and Andreesen Horowitz, took notice and are backing companies in this growing sector.INNOVATIONSpace is the sector with the most unlimited potential for progress and collaboration. When space advances, other industries benefit. When other industries advance, space benefits as well—innovations and progress multiply.From Hollywood to navigation, communications devices to streaming services, medical discoveries to robotics, agriculture to energy, all of these industries affect space and are affected by space—much like bees pollinating flowers.Jacobson proposes that space startups can borrow tactics and strategies developed by other entrepreneurs and thought leaders—such as Peter Thiel, Eric Ries, and Ben Horowitz—to improve space startups' probability for success.INSPIRATIONWhat do Jules Verne, Star Trek, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Stanley Kubrick, Jerry Pournelle, Andy Weir, and David Bowie have in common?For centuries, artists and creators have helped inspire real space efforts. They merged space with arts and entertainment to construct visions and stories that helped us articulate, amplify, and imagine what is possible—ultimately influencing and shaping reality, from Moon missions to mobile phones.What will we accomplish over the next decade? Is there a way to achieve great personal success and benefit others—maybe even all of humanity?

    You attack the world’s fiercest defenses at 500 knots and share the ultimate thrill of hurling yourself against almost impossible odds–and winning.–JACK BROUGHTON, author of Thud RidgeEd Rasimus straps the reader into the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber in his engaging account of the Rolling Thunder campaign in the skies over North Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1968, more than 330 F-105s were lost–the highest loss rate in Southeast Asia–and many pilots were killed, captured, and wounded because of the Air Force’s disastrous tactics. The descriptions of Rasimus’s one hundred missions, some of the most dangerous of the conflict, will satisfy anyone addicted to vivid, heart-stopping aerial combat, as will the details of his transformation from a young man paralyzed with self-doubt into a battle-hardened veteran. His unique perspective, candid analysis, and the sheer power of his narrative rank his memoir with the finest, most entertaining of the war. “A story that reflects the bravery of the men who flew over enemy territory in a perilous time.”–The Baltimore Chronicle“[A] MODERN-DAY RED BADGE OF COURAGE .”–JOHN DARRELL SHERWOOD, author of Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam ExperienceLook for these remarkable stories of American courage in the Vietnam warDOWN SOUTHOne Tour in Vietnamby William H. HardwickLOST IN TRANSLATIONVietnam: A Combat Advisor’s Storyby Martin J. Dockery MEDIC!The Story of a Conscientious Objector in the Vietnam Warby Ben Sherman WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE . . . AND YOUNGIa Drang: The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnamby Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway

    This is a fighter pilot's story of eight memorable months from May to December 1940. When the Germans were blitzing their way across France, Pilot Officer Tom Neil had just received his first posting - to 249 Squadron, in process for forming at RAF Church Fenton in Yorkshire. Nineteen years old, fresh from training at Montrose on Hawker Audax biplanes he was soon to be pitch forked into the maelstrom of air fighting on which the survival of Britain was to depend. By the end of the year he had shot down 13 enemy aircraft, seen many of his friends killed, injured or burned, and was himself a wary and accomplished fighter pilot. Tom Neil is one of only a handful of veterans still alive today. The average age of surviving veterans is 91. Only 20 veterans out of 2947 official Battle of Britain pilots are fit enough to attend Battle of Britain Fighter Association events (although around 90 are still alive in total). He is 89 and lives in Suffolk with his wife who was a Fighter Command plotter when they met in 1940. He flew 141 combat missions (few pilots reached 50) mostly from North Weald airfield in Essex, and shot down 13 enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain. Tom Neil was one of the pilots the War Ministry used in their propaganda at the time of the Battle of Britain partly because of his height (6 ft 4) and his good looks. Tom Neil flew with James Nicolson at the time he won the only Battle of Britain Victoria Cross.

    They have become renowned for their visual excellence, which includes unparalleled photography, 3-D mapping, and specially commissioned cutaway illustrations. DK "Eyewitness Travel Guides" are the only guides that work equally well for inspiration, as a planning tool, a practical resource while traveling, and a keepsake following any trip. Each guide is packed with the up-to-date, reliable destination information every traveler needs, including extensive hotel and restaurant listings, themed itineraries, lush photography, and numerous maps.

    He began learning the skills he would need to fly as a member of the Civil Air Patrol, a branch of the U.S. Air Force, when he was just twelve years old. But it wasn’t until he graduated from the naval ROTC program at the University of Nebraska and joined the navy that his dream became a reality. For five years, Osborn practiced rigorous training exercises, working tirelessly day in and day out until he advanced from navy pilot to mission commander. All Lt. Osborn’s flying skills were put to the test when a Chinese F-8 II fighter jet collided with his EP-3E ARIES II plane during a U.S. surveillance mission through international airspace. The impact severely damaged Osborn’s aircraft, sending it plummeting toward the ocean. With almost certain disaster looming, Osborn managed to gain control of the crippled plane and land it safely on the Chinese island of Hainan—saving the lives of his twenty-three crewmates.In Born to Fly, Shane Osborn describes these terrifying events in vivid detail, along with the years of dedicated training that made the emergency landing possible. This is the inspirational story of a boy with a dream, and of the extraordinary discipline and courage that made him a hero.

    . .the World War II flying ace who shot down a Messerschmitt jet with a prop-driven P-51 Mustang . . .the hero who defined a certain quality that all hotshot fly-boys of the postwar era aimed to achieve: the right stuff.Now Chuck Yeager tells his whole incredible life story with the same "wide-open, full throttle" approach that has marked his astonishing career.  What it was really like enaging in do-or-die dogfights over Nazi Europe.  How after being shot over occupied France, Yeager somehow managed to escape.  The amazing behind-the-scenes story of smashing the sound barrier despite cracked ribs from a riding accident days before.The entire story is here, in Yeager's own words, and in wondeful insights from his wife and those friends and colleagues who have known him best.  It is the personal and public story of a man who settled for nothing less than excellence, a one-of-a-kind portrait of a true American hero.

    The National War College, the Air Force’s Air University and several other institutions use his books as doctrine and strategy guides, historical references and textbooks. He twice won the Aviation/Space Writers Association award as the outstanding author in the field of aviation. Caidin died in March 1997.

    presidents to outmaneuver the Russians, the Vietnam war, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Original.

    “Kelly” Johnson led the design of such crucial aircraft as the P-38 and Constellation, but he will be more remembered for the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. His extraordinary leadership of the Lockheed “Skunk Works” cemented his reputation as a legendary figure in American aerospace management.

    This is perhaps the first time we have such a complete firsthand account in which nothing is kept back and there is no departmental “diplomacy.” The author is a nuclear power specialist who worked for a time at the Chernobyl AES and knows it well, just as he is personally acquainted with all the principal participants in the events. By virtue of his official position, he has attended many of the crucial conferences concerning nuclear power plant construction. Immediately after the accident, Medvedev was sent to Chernobyl and had an opportunity to learn a great deal while the trail was still fresh and to see things with his own eyes. He presents many technical details indispensable to understanding the mechanism whereby the accident occurred, he exposes the secrets of bureaucratic relations, he tells about the oversights of scientists and designers, about the disastrous overbearing pressure in the command system, about the violations of glasnost before the accident and in the emergency situation following it that have caused enormous harm. The chronicle of events at Chernobyl in the tragic days of April and May 1986 takes up the central place in the story. The author portrays the behavior and role of numerous participants in the drama, of real living people with their shortcomings and virtues, their doubts, their weaknesses, their illusions, and their heroism alongside the nuclear monster that had gone out of control. It is not possible to read about this without the deepest emotion. We knew about the exploits of the firemen. The author tells about the heroism of the electricians, the turbine specialists, the operators, and other workers at the station who prevented the accident from taking on greater proportions.

    An account of one of the Cold War era's most harrowing nuclear accidents documents the maiden voyage of the Soviet nuclear submarine, during which a serious reactor leak spurred a perilous race against time.

    Journalist Matt Potter tells the story of Yuri and his crew, a gang of Russian military men who, after the collapse of the Soviet Union found themselves without work or prospects. So they bought a decommissioned Soviet plane-at liquidation prices, straight from the Russian government-and started a shipping business. It wasn't long before Yuri, and many pilots like him, found themselves an unlikely (and ethically dubious) hub of global trading. Men like these are paid by the U.S., the Taliban, and blue-chip multinational companies to bring supplies- some legal, some not-across dangerous borders.In a feat of daring reportage, Potter gets onto the flight deck with these outlaws and tells the story of their fearless missions. Dodging gunfire, Potter is taken from place to place by men trafficking everything from illicit weapons to emergency aid, making enemies everywhere but no reliable friends. As the world changes, we see the options for the crew first explode, then slowly diminish, until, in a desperate maneuver, they move their operations to the most lawless corners of Africa, where they operate to this day.The story of these outlaws is a microcosm of the world since the end of the cold war: secret contracts, guerrilla foreign policy, and conflicts too thorny to be handled in public. Potter uses the story of these men to articulate an underground history of the globalized world. At once thrilling, provocative, and morally circumspect, this book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in espionage, or in how the world works today.

    Dmitri Nabokov, now seventy-five the Russian novelist's only surviving heir, and translator of many of his books has wrestled for three decades with the decision of whether to honor his father's wish or preserve for posterity the last piece of writing of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His decision finally to allow publication of the fragmented narrative dark yet playful, preoccupied with mortality affords us one last experience of Nabokov's magnificent creativity, the quintessence of his unparalleled body of work. "Photos of the handwritten index cards accompany the text. They are perforated and can be removed and rearranged, as the author likely did when he was writing the novel. ""

    A Top Gun for the new millennium, LIONS OF THE SKY propels us into a realm in which friendship, loyalty, and skill are tested, battles won and lost in an instant, and lives irrevocably changed in the time it takes to plug in your afterburners. Sam Richardson is a fighter pilot’s pilot, a reluctant legend with a gut-eating secret. He is in the last span of his tour as an instructor, yearning to get back to the real action of the Fleet, when he is ordered to take on one last class—a class that will force him to confront his carefully quarantined demons. Brash, carefree, and naturally gifted, Keely Silvers is the embodiment of all that grates on him. After years of single-minded dedication, she and her classmates can see the finish line. They are months away from achieving their life-long dream, flying Navy F/A-18 fighters. They are smart and hard-working, but they’re just kids with expensive new toys. They’re eager to rush through training and escape to the freedom of the world beyond, a world they view as a playground full of fast jets and exotic locales. But Sam knows there is a darker side to the profession he loves. There is trouble brewing in the East with global implications. If they make it past him they will be cast into a dangerous world where enemy planes cruise the skies over the South China Sea like sharks, loaded with real weapons and hidden intentions. Early Praise for Lions of the Sky Paco Chierici has written a humdinger of a book. Through vividly drawn characters, he takes us inside a Navy fighter squadron showing their incredibly difficult day to day lives, including the obstacles women still face in this tight knit community. ...a terrific window into a world very few people see. —The Honorable Ray Mabus, 75th United States Secretary of the Navy Lions of the Sky is gripping, fast paced, and authentic. If you want a real, edge of the envelope thriller, look no further! — Brandon Webb former Navy SEAL, pilot and New York Times Bestselling author. I was BLOWN away! Paco put me right back in the cockpit and the Ready Room. Lions of the Sky is intense, and personal, and thrilling, especially the ending. A must read! —Lea Gabrielle. Journalist and F/A-18 Naval Aviator Francesco “Paco” Chierici made flying some of the U.S. Navy’s most treacherous fighters look easy. But it’s his deep and lasting infatuation with that deadly aerial artistry — and his ability to describe it so accurately and vividly – that set him apart as an aviator, a documentary film producer, and writer. Paco’s eye for detail, salty irreverence, and skill as both an aviator and a writer, make this fictional work very real. Strap in for an unforgettable ride. — Dave Hirschman, Author of Hijacked – The True Story of the Heroes of Flight 705, and AOPA Pilot Editor at Large An experienced fighter pilot, Paco Chierici knows what he’s writing about here. Fans of military fiction, strap into your favorite ejection seat and get ready for a high speed, G-pulling, missile-shooting thrill ride. — Ward Carroll, author of Punk’s War, Punk’s Wing, and Punk’s Fight Paco Chierici’s debut novel is an unforgettable story of pride, lust, loss, betrayal and redemption...set today in a carrier-based fighter squadron in combat. Timely and gripping, Lions of the Sky is an exciting supersonic techno-thriller with well-written g-spikes of human drama that kept me turning the pages.

    The essential guide to the world's aircraft Over 500 color photographs Civilian and military aircraft Technical data Recognition silhouettes Aircraft markings identification guide