HEPPENHEIMER, T(homas) A(dolph) 1947-

PERSONAL: Born January 1, 1947, in New York, NY; son of Henry Gunther (a toolmaker) and Betty Lorraine (a secretary; maiden name, Amitin) Heppenheimer; married Phyllis Marcia Safdy, December 9, 1967 (divorced May 9, 1977); married Beverley Brownlee, June 8, 1998; children: (first marriage) Laurie, Alex, Connie. Education: Michigan State University, B.S.M.E., 1967, M.S.M.E., 1968; University of Michigan, Ph.D., 1972. Politics: Republican.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—11040 Blue Allium Ave., Fountain Valley, CA 92708. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Science Applications, Inc., Schiller Park, IL, scientist, 1972-73; Rockwell International Corp., Downey, CA, member of technical staff in systems engineering, 1973-74; California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, research fellow in planetary science, 1974-75; Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, West Germany, Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow, 1976-78; K.R.G., Inc., Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, vice president, 1978-82; full-time writer, 1982—. University of California—Irvine, instructor, 1988-90. Forum for the Advancement of Students in Science and Technology, technical vice president, 1971-73.

MEMBER: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (associate fellow), American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Astronomical Society (Division of Dynamical Astronomy), British Interplanetary Society (fellow), Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Eta Sigma.

WRITINGS:

Colonies in Space (Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection), introduction by Ray Bradbury, Stackpole (Mechanicsburg, PA), 1977.

Toward Distant Suns (Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection), Stackpole (Mechanicsburg, PA), 1979.

The Real Future, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1983.

The Man-Made Sun: The Quest for Fusion Power (Book-of-the-Month Club alternate science selection), Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1984.

The Coming Quake: Science and Trembling on the California Earthquake Frontier, Times Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Superconductivity: Research, Applications and Potential Markets, Pasha Publications (Arlington, VA), 1988.

(Editor and contributor) Anti-Submarine Warfare: The Threat, the Strategy, the Solution, Pasha Publications (Arlington, VA), 1989.

Hypersonic Technologies and the National Aerospace Plane, Pasha Publications (Arlington, VA), 1990.

Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation, J. Wiley (New York, NY), 1995.

Countdown: A History of Space Flight, John Wiley (New York, NY), 1997.

The Space Shuttle Decision: NASA's Search for a Reusable Space Vehicle, History Office, Office of Policy and Plans, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Washington, DC), 1999.

A Brief History of Flight: From Balloons to Mach 3 and Beyond, John Wiley (New York, NY), 2001.

History of the Space Shuttle, Volume 1: Development of the Space Shuttle, 1965-1972, Volume 2: Development of the Space Shuttle, 1972-1981, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2002.

First Flight: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane, John Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2003.

Contributor to books, including Space Manufacturing Facilities: Space Colonies, edited by Jerry Grey, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Volumes 1-2, 1977, Volume 3, 1979, Volume 4, 1981; The Origin of the Solar System, by S. F. Dermott, Wiley-Interscience (New York, NY), 1978; Universe, by Don Dixon, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1981; The Real Future, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1983; and Robotics, edited by Marvin Minsky, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1985. Contributor of numerous articles to scientific journals and popular science magazines, including Yearbook of Science and the Future, Popular Science, Discover, American Heritage, Omni, Science Digest, Mosaic, and High Technology. Book review editor, Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, 1979-86.

ADAPTATIONS: Turbulent Skies was adapted as a television documentary titled Chasing the Sun: Heroes and Daredevils, aired by Public Broadcasting Service.

SIDELIGHTS: T. A. Heppenheimer once told CA: "I spent several years as a working scientist before I discovered that being an author and freelance writer is more fun and more lucrative. Nevertheless, my background in science is with me every time I do an interview or sit at my typewriter. This continues to give me unique sources of material to write about, and helps me greatly in keeping current on the most significant insights and critical thinking in my areas of interest. It is especially helpful when I go to conferences—or to colleagues' offices, who welcome me as one who knows their world intimately. Science writing is a career in its own right; any scientist who deals with an editor or agent will soon find he needs more than a knowledge of his field. Yet it will not do to have simply a good writing style; one must have technical knowledge, too. It is by going forward in this fashion, by spending time at seminars and keeping up with the journals, that I maintain the flow of new, significant ideas that contribute to the standard of quality I seek in my work. And there is more. I find true science to be more imaginative, more stimulating, more exciting than all but the very best in science fiction. There is a pleasure in actually doing science, in wrestling with nature and in seeking to make discoveries, which to me is quite thrilling; and I try to convey this excitement in my writings."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Air and Space/Smithsonian, December, 1995, review of Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation, p. 90.

American Scientist, May-June, 1998, Alexander Gurshtein, review of Countdown: A History of Space Flight, p. 294; May, 2001, review of A Brief History of Flight: From Balloons to Mach 3 and Beyond, p. 267.

Astronomy, April, 1998, review of Countdown, p. 106.

Booklist, September 1, 1988, review of The Coming Quake: Science and Trembling on the California Earthquake Frontier, p. 15; September 1, 1995, David Rouse, review of Turbulent Skies, p. 22; May 15, 1997, Roland Green, review of Countdown, p. 1546.

Book Report, November-December, 1997, Steven M. Baule, review of Countdown, p. 54.

Choice, February, 1989, review of The Coming Quake, p. 966; September, 1996, review of Turbulent Skies, p. 149; October, 1997, A. M. Strauss, review of Countdown, p. 316; October, 2001, R. E. Bilstein, review of A Brief History of Flight, p. 331.

History: Review of New Books, spring, 1998, John A. Heitmann, review of Countdown, p. 153.

Isis, June, 1999, Robert G. Ferguson, review of Turbulent Skies, p. 399; December, 1999, review of Countdown, p. 856.

Journal of American History, June, 1998, Martin J. Collins, review of Countdown, p. 307.

Journal of Government Information, November, 2000, review of The Space Shuttle Decision: NASA's Search for a Reusable Space Vehicle, p. 703.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 1988, review of The Coming Quake, p. 1123; July 1, 1995, review of Turbulent Skies, p. 919; April 1, 1997, review of Countdown, p. 521.

Library Journal, August, 1995, review of Turbulent Skies, p. 88; May 15, 1997, Thomas J. Frieling, review of Countdown, p. 97; February 15, 2003, John Carver Edwards, review of First Flight: The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane, p. 150.

London Review of Books, March 5, 1998, review of Countdown, p. 13.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, March 18, 1984; October 2, 1988, review of The Coming Quake, p. 1.

Nature, March 12, 1998, Alex Roland, review of Countdown, p. 143.

New Scientist, June 28, 1997, review of Countdown, p. 40.

New York Times Book Review, April 1, 1984; January 1, 1989, K. C. Cole, review of The Coming Quake, p. 11.

Observer (London, England), May 25, 1997, review of Countdown, p. 17.

Publishers Weekly, August 5, 1988, Genevieve Stuttaford, review of The Coming Quake, p. 75; July 31, 1995, review of Turbulent Skies, p. 88; April 14, 1997, review of Countdown, p. 65; January 6, 2003, review of First Flight, p. 52.

Reference and Research Book News, August, 1997, review of Countdown, p. 176.

Science Books and Films, January, 1989, review of The Coming Quake, p. 156; November, 1997, review of Countdown, p. 235.

Scientific American, January, 1998, John M. Logsdon, review of Countdown, p. 108.

SciTech Book News, September, 2001, review of A Brief History of Flight,

Space Policy, November, 1998, Jeff Kingwell, review of Countdown, p. 255.

Space World, April, 1988, John Rhea, review of Hypersonic Technologies and the National Aerospace Plane, p. 36.

Technology and Culture, April, 1987, Bruce R. Wheaton, review of The Man-Made Sun: The Quest for Fusion Power, p. 394; April, 2001, Alex Roland, review of The Space Shuttle Decision, p. 386.

Times Literary Supplement, February 27, 1998, review of Countdown, p. 30.

Transportation Journal, spring, 1996, Richard R. Young, review of Turbulent Skies, p. 55.*