Dr. Michael H. Gorn will visit the Ojai Library at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 28, 2019, to present a special talk, “Lucky and Smart: Apollo 11 @ 50.” Gorn is an author and historian specializing in the field of aeronautics and spaceflight.
In this presentation, Gorn will discuss how the Apollo program got started, and the many ways in which good (and bad) fortune influenced the outcome of the mission. He will also speak about his book Spacecraft: 100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites that Put Us in Space (Quarto Publishers, London, 2018)—how it originated, what it covers, and where spaceflight may be heading in the future.
The book is an ambitiously illustrated aerospace history that profiles and depicts spacecraft from Sputnik 1 through the International Space Station, and everything in between. Illustrator and aerospace professional Giuseppe De Chiara teams up with Gorn to present a huge, profusely illustrated, and authoritatively written collection of profiles depicting the design, development, and deployment of these manned and unmanned spacecraft. Satellites, capsules, spaceplanes, rockets, and space stations are illustrated in multiple-view, sometimes cross-section, and in many cases shown in archival period photography to provide further historical context.
A federal historian of nearly 30 years, Gorn—author of eight books on the history of aeronautics and spaceflight—spent 13 of those years at NASA. He is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships for his aerospace writing, and has been featured in interviews on National Public Radio, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel. Gorn lives in Thousand Oaks, California.
This event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow the presentation. For additional information, contact Ron Solórzano, Regional Librarian, at (805) 218-9146.
The Ojai Library is located at 111 East Ojai Avenue in Ojai, CA. Hours of service are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
