Harnessing the Genie: Science and Technology Forecasting for the Air Force, 1944-1986 (Air Staff Historical Study) [Paperback]

Michael H. Gorn (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: Air Force History & Museums Program; 1st ed edition (October 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912799528
• ISBN-13: 978-0912799520
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,034,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harnessing the Genie, June 12, 2007

By 

cortezhill - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Harnessing the Genie: Science and Technology Forecasting for the Air Force, 1944-1986 (Air Staff Historical Study) (Paperback)

...Toward New Horizons, written by von Karmen's USAF Scientific Advisory Group, has endured as the model for Air Force science and technology forecasts. Renamed the USAF Scientific Advisory Board, the institution von Karman created has also endured. Harnessing the Genie tells us that while both the report and the board continue to be regarded with the utmost resect, their roles have been imperceptibly transformed over time. Toward New Horizons was followed in 1957 and 1958 by the Woods Hole Summer Studies, in 1964 by Project Forecast, in 1975 by New Horizon II, and in 1986 by Project Forecast II. The pattern suggests that every ten years or so the USAF revisits the concept behind Toward New Horizons and attempts to look into the future of aerospace technology....

Thus, Harnessing the Genie describes and analyzes the methodology and conclusions of the five main science and technology forecasts undertaken by the Air Force since before its birth as an independent service. Hopefully, this work will provide useful background as the Air Force grapples with the technological demands of national security in the 21st century.

--- excerpts from book's Foreword