Hardesty, Von 1939-

PERSONAL:

Born March 16, 1939, in Byesville, OH; son of Wilford W. and Florentine Hardesty; married, December 22, 1962; wife's name Judith (divorced, 1976); married, 1987, wife's name Patricia; children: (first marriage) Stephen Walter. Education: Bluffton College, B.A., 1961; Case Western Reserve University, M.A., 1964; Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1974. Religion: Eastern Orthodox.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Washington, DC. Office—National Air and Space Museum 3308, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560; fax: 202-786-2447. E-mail—von.hardesty@nasm.si.edu.

CAREER:

Historian, educator, museum curator, and writer. Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH, instructor in history, 1969-70; Bluffton College, Bluffton, OH, associate professor of history, 1970-78; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, curator of National Air and Space Museum, 1979—. Oxford University, visiting fellow of Worcester College, 1988-89, senior associate of St. Antony's College, 1995.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Guggenheim fellowship, 1978-79; Regents fellow, Smithsonian Institution, 1994.

WRITINGS:

A Narrative of Bluffton College, Bluffton College (Bluffton, OH), 1974.

A Bibliography of the Soviet Air Force in World War II, National Air and Space Museum (Washington, DC), 1979.

Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power, 1941-1945, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1982.

(With Dominick A. Pisano) Black Wings: The American Black in Aviation, National Air and Space Museum (Washington, DC), 1983, revised edition with new introduction by author published as Black Aviator: The Story of William J. Powell, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1994.

Conflict and Stability in the Development of Modern Europe, 1870-1970, Open University Press (London, England), 1983.

(Contributor) Paul Murphy, editor, The Soviet Air Forces, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 1984.

(Editor) Alexander Riaboff, Gatchina Days: Reminiscences of a Russian Pilot, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1986.

(Translator and adapter, and editor with K.N. Finne and Carl J. Bobrow) Igor Sikorsky: The Russian Years, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1987.

(With Dorothy Cochrane and Russell Lee) The Aviation Careers of Igor Sikorsky, University of Washington Press (Seattle, WA), 1989.

(Editor and author of introduction) Georgiy Baidukov, Russian Lindbergh: The Life of Valery Chkalov, translated by Peter Belov, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1991.

(Editor) James J. Fahey, Pacific War Diary, Illustrated, University of Washington Press (Seattle, WA), 1993.

(Editor and contributor) James J. Fahey, Pacific War Diary, University of Washington Press (Seattle, WA), 1995.

(Editor) L.L. Kerber, Stalin's Aviation Gulag: A Memoir of Andrei Tupolev and the Purge Era, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1996.

(Editor) Into the Teeth of the Tiger, Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight (Washington, DC), 1997.

(Coeditor) Russian Air Power and Aviation, Frank Cass (London, England), 1998.

(Author of introduction) Dmitriy Loza, Attack of the Airacobras: Soviet Aces, American P-39s and the Air War against Germany, edited and translated by James F. Gebhardt, University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), 2001.

Lindbergh: Flight's Enigmatic Hero, Harcourt (New York, NY), 2002.

(With David Reynolds and Wally Schirra) Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, Harcourt (New York, NY), 2002.

Great Aviators and Their Epic Flights, Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 2003.

Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency, NorthWord Press (Chanhassen, MN), 2003.

Spectacular Washington, Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 2004.

(With Gene Eisman) Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race, National Geographic (Washington, DC), 2007.

Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History, HarperCollins Publishers (New York, NY), 2007.

(With John T. Greenwood) Milestones of Aviation, Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including Smithsonian.

SIDELIGHTS:

Writing in the Washington Post Book World, critic Martin Caidin praised author Von Hardesty's Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power, 1941-1945, deeming Hardesty's chronicle of Soviet military air power during World War II "a brilliant study" and commending its "wealth of detail on structure, policy, organization and statistical data." According to George Alexander of the Los Angeles Times Book Review, the book, which contains many never-before-seen photographs, "recounts the slow, painful transformation of the Voyenno vosdushnyye sily, or Soviet air force, from a 1941 pushover to a 1945 strongman."

In addition to Red Phoenix, Hardesty has written and edited numerous other books about aviation. He takes a look at an American legend in Lindbergh: Flight's Enigmatic Hero. Published in 2002 in conjunction with the seventy-fifth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's groundbreaking solo flight across the Atlantic, the author not only tells the life story of Lindbergh but also delves into the reasons why the pioneering pilot attracted such fame and adulation, from the extreme danger he faced during his epic flight to his looks and personality. The author also writes about the tragic kidnapping of the son of Lindbergh and his wife, Ann. Although a hero to many, Lindbergh was not without his flaws, and the author writes about the controversial aspects of Lindbergh's life, such as his opposition to entering World War II. "Attractively laid out, the hundreds of photographs do not overwhelm Hardesty's narrative, and ensure certain popularity," wrote Gilbert Taylor in Booklist. A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that "this album is a fine introduction to the aviator's mixed legacy."

In his 2003 book, Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency, Hardesty chronicles the use of airplanes by U.S. presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was the first president to fly, to the modern days of Air Force One, the name given to the plane(s) that transport the U.S. president throughout the United States and the world. In the process, the author examines how air flight in the modern age after the Korean War corresponded to the emergence of the United States as a superpower. The book includes vintage and color photographs. School Library Journal contributor Eldon Younce called Air Force One an "interesting and informative presentation." Referring to the book as a "compelling history," a Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that Hardesty "has provided a sterling contribution to the history of both the presidency and of American aviation."

Hardesty is author with Gene Eisman of Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race. The book examines the intense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union as the two countries launched their space programs in the 1950s. Using declassified documents and a number of other American and Russian sources, the authors detail both the American and Russian perspectives as each country tried to outdo the other in order to achieve the prize goal of achieving dominance in outer space. The authors also look at the key political figures who played a role in the "space race," such as the Soviet Union's Nikita Khrushchev and U.S. president John Kennedy, who pioneered the political effort in the United States to support the space program. The authors also profile the early astronauts and cosmonauts as well as scientists, engineers, and managers who played a key role in both countries' space programs.

Noting that "it was surprising to learn something new from" the book, a contributor to the Arts Journal Web site wrote: "The book is a very accessible account of traveling from the Earth to the Moon, as it were." Jeff Hecht, writing for the New Scientist, commented that Epic Rivalry "succeeds in putting the big picture of the space race into focus—whether you remember it or heard about it from your grandparents. And it leaves you curious."

In Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History, Hardesty chronicles the achievements of African Americans in the history of U.S. flight, from the era of biplanes to space flight. The author writes about pioneers such as the first black World War I combat pilot, Eugene Jacques Bullard, and the pioneering black woman pilot Bessie Coleman. He examines in depth the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen, the African American fighter squadron in World War II, and also discusses issues of racism that African American pilots have faced throughout history, both on the job and at home after returning from heroic efforts in war. Referring to Black Wings as "a well-written, copiously illustrated book," School Library Journal contributor Alan Gropman also called the book "an inspiring volume."

Hardesty is also editor of the 1996 book, Stalin's Aviation Gulag: A Memoir of Andrei Tupolev and the Purge Era, written by L.L. Kerber. This story of the Russian aviation pioneer's life and his torments under Joseph Stalin's regime was called "refreshingly lively reading" by Aerospace Power Journal contributor David R. Johnson.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Aerospace Power Journal, winter, 2000, David R. Johnson, review of Stalin's Aviation Gulag: A Memoir of Andrei Tupolev and the Purge Era, p. 100.

Air & Space, March 1, 2007, Diane Tedeschi, "A Quarter Century of ‘Black Wings,’" interview with author.

Booklist, November 15, 2002, Gilbert Taylor, review of Lindbergh: Flight's Enigmatic Hero, p. 554.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2007, review of Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race.

Library Journal, November 15, 2002, Charlie Cowling, review of Lindbergh, p. 80; October 15, 2007, Margaret Henderson, review of Epic Rivalry, p. 86.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, December 5, 1982, George Alexander, review of Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power, 1941-1945, p. 15.

New Scientist, October 4, 2007, Jeff Hecht, review of Epic Rivalry.

Publishers Weekly, November 11, 2002, review of Lindbergh, p. 57; September 8, 2003, review of Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency, p. 71.

School Library Journal, November, 2003, Eldon Younce, review of Air Force One, p. 160; October, 2004, review of Air Force One, p. 57; June 1, 2008, Alan Gropman, review of Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History.

Washington Post Book World, January 23, 1983, Martin Caidin, review of Red Phoenix, p. BW14.

ONLINE

Arts Journal,http://www.artsjournal.com/ (July 28, 2008), "With All of the 50th Anniversary, Baby Boomer-Cold War Nostalgia over Sputnik the Past Month …," review of Epic Rivalry.

BookPage,http://www.bookpage.com/ (July 28, 2008), Michelle Jones, "Out of This World: The 50th Anniversary of Sputnik," review of Epic Rivalry.

CBS News Web site,http://www.cbsnews.com/ (September 30, 2007), "How Sputnik Changed America: 50 Years Ago, the Soviet Union Launched a Satellite and America Would Never Be the Same," interview with author.

CNN.com,http://cnn.com/ (January 25, 2001), "How Soviets Copied America's Best Bomber during WWII: Feat of Soviet Reverse Engineering Pushed U.S. on Defensive Missile Systems," interview with author and others.

CNN.com International,http://edition.cnn.com/ (November 28, 2003), Miles O'Brien, "Live from … Bush in Baghdad: Air Force One," interview with author.

Lend-Lease on www.airforce.ru,http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/ (July 28, 2008), brief mention of author as assisting in publishing.

National Geographic Channel Pressroom Web site,http://press.nationalgeographic.com/pressroom/ (September 19, 2007), press release for Epic Rivalry.

Space Review,http://www.thespacereview.com/ (November 5, 2007), Jeff Foust, review of Epic Rivalry.