Rocketeers and Gentlemen Engineers

Commissioned on the occasion of its 75th Anniversary, here is the fascinating historical account of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics — and its predecessor organizations, the American Rocket Society and The Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences — and the significant contributions each has made to the evolution of flight. From the early struggles to create and distinguish aeronautics as a distinct profession, through the technological necessities brought on by two world wars, to the incredible advances spawned by the Space Age, this narrative covers it all in a highly readable, thoroughly researched way. Reading like an aeronautical and astronautical "who's who," it is also the amazing story of the organizations' founders, leaders and members — visionary individuals and dedicated engineers advancing theories and technologies in a profession that has forever changed society and shaped everyday life as we know it.

Commissioned in honor of the organization's 75th anniversary, this accessible text recounts the history of the American Institute of Aeronautics as well as its predecessors, the American Rocket Society and the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences. Illustrated throughout with b&w historical photographs, it tells the stories of the visionary engineers who developed early air and space flight technologies. The author of a number of books on aeronautical history, Crouch is Senior Curator of the Division of Aeronautics at the National Air and Space Museum. Annotation © 2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Crouch is Senior Curator of the Division of Aeronautics at the National Air and Space Museum. Since 1974, he has served both the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History in a variety of curatorial and administrative posts. He holds a BA from Ohio University, an MA from Miami University and a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University. All of his degrees are in history. In addition, he holds the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, conferred by the Wright State University.

Dr.. Crouch is the author or editor of over a dozen books, and many articles for both popular magazines and scholarly journals. Crouch's leading books include: The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright; A Dream of Wings: Americans and the Airplane, 1875-1905; Eagle Aloft: Two Centuries of the Balloon in America; and Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age.

The author has won a number of major writing awards, including the history book prizes offered by both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Aviation/Space Writers Association a Christopher Award, and the AIAA Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Prize for 2005. In the fall of 2000, President Clinton appointed Dr. Crouch to the Chairmanship of the First Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board.