Michael H. Gorn

Biography

Michael H. Gorn is an author and historian specializing in aeronautics and spaceflight.

Gorn has published more than twelve books and is working now on a biography entitled NASA’s Forgotten Genius: Dr. Hugh L. Dryden and the Foundations of the American Space Program. It recounts the life of a man of international stature who exerted a profound influence not only on the development of aeronautics, but equally on the global efforts to launch mankind into space. Dryden combined one of the keenest scientific minds of his generation with exceptional bureaucratic finesse, honed over decades of government service.Yet, paradoxically--as the title of the book suggests--he has been all but lost to history. Written under contract with Springer/Praxis Books, it is due for publication in early 2028.

The Complete Book of Spacecraft: Rockets, Shuttles, Satellites, and Space Stations is Gorn’s most recent work, published with author Davide Sivolella and filled with illustrations by artist Giuseppe De Chiara. It generously expands and updates (with extensive new text and lavish new illustrations) a previous publication--Spacecraft: 100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites that Put Us in Space (see below). The Complete Book of Spacecraft brings the international story of space vehicles up-to-date, right to the present era, when the twin revolutions of globalization and privatization continue to transfigure the world of spaceflight. Published by the Quarto Publishing Group, it will be released in August 2025.

Gorn is also the author of X-Planes from the X-1 to the X-60: An Illustrated History. Published in late 2021 by Springer/Praxis Books, it features nearly 100 original artworks by aerospace artist Giuseppe De Chiara. X-Planes tells a 75-year story about the U.S. government's intensive investment in advanced aerospace research, embodied by its many experimental aircraft and rockets. The book asks a simple question: What have we gained from it all? The answer is provided by a comprehensive overview of the X-plane's long history, from the preliminary flights of the Mach 1 X-1 in 1946 to the present-day X-60 hypersonic rocket.

Another of Gorn's books is Spacecraft: 100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites That Put Us in Space, published by the Quarto Publishing Group. It takes a definitive, international approach to the history of space exploration, profiling and depicting spacecraft from the tiny Sputnik 1 satellite to the mighty James Webb telescope, and nearly everything in between. The book also includes many technical concepts that have yet to venture outside of the Earth's atmosphere. Artist Giuseppe De Chiara joins Gorn in presenting a profusely illustrated and authoritatively written collection of profiles depicting and describing the design, development, and deployment of these manned and unmanned spacecraft.

Gorn has written a number of other, critically acclaimed works. These include NASA: The Complete Illustrated History and Superstructures in Space: From Satellites to Space Stations, A Guide to What's Out There (both by Merrell Publishers, 2005 and 2008). He also published the award-winning Expanding the Envelope: Flight Research at NACA and NASA (The University Press of Kentucky, 2001), as well as The Universal Man: Theodore von Kármán's Life in Aeronautics (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992).

Gorn grew up in Los Angeles, California, and attended California State University Northridge, following which he graduated with a doctorate in history from the University of Southern California. A federal historian for 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 there, including the Command Historian of the Air Force Systems Command, and subsequently the Deputy Chief Historian of the Air Force. Gorn then worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for 13 years, eventually becoming the Chief Historian of the NASA Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Michael Gorn is the recipient of the 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. He also received the Alfred V. Verville Fellowship from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and was selected for the Fellowship in Aerospace History by the American Historical Association.

Gorn has been a commentator on National Public Radio, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel.

He lives in Southern California with his wife, Christine.