David Baker has spent most of his professional life involved with US aviation, space programmes and defence organisations worldwide. He has lectured extensively on the political, industrial and technical development of military aviation and has written thousands of articles and over 120 books. Now a professional historian, he has been editor of Horizons, Aviation News, Jane's Aircraft Upgrades, Jane's Spaceflight Directory and SpaceFlight. He has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Arthur C Clarke Award and the American Astronautical Society's Frederick I Ordway award.