Raise Heaven and Earth: The Story of Martin Marietta People and Their Pioneering Achievements

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. First Edition First Printing . Hard Back. As New/Good. 6 1/2" X 8 1/2. 656 Pages. Blue cloth with flawless interior text pages. Illustrated throughout with photographs and a center fold-out illustrates the corporate products. Pristine gift quality condition. Dust jacket has small piece missing from front bottom corner. This is the fascinating story of Martin Marietta Corporation, one of the largest and most successful industrial corporations in the United States. In a broader sense, this is also a penetrating insight into the birth of a vital American industry and the diverse technologies it spawned. It speaks of milestone events and developments that helped shape this century and prepare us for the next. The book recalls those with the vision, intellect, and dedication to confront a wide range of national imperatives in defense, space exploration, telecommunications, information management, and energy and to act on them in inventive ways. They built huge machines capable of escaping Earth's gravity and micro-instruments that see through darkness or look back to the birth of the universe itself. Their story spans some eighty years, from the days of bamboo-and-silk aircraft to World War II bombers, fighters, and seaplanes to the space boosters, satellites, and computers that make possible intercontinental communications as well as interplanetary exploration. Much of this book is based on interviews with the people who participated in the events described. The author is a veteran of much of this history, portrays the events and circumstances of aviation's heady pioneering days, from the giant Clipper flying boats across the Pacific to Rosie the Riveter and her industrial heirs whose patriotism empowered Allied victories from World War II to Desert Storm. Here, too, are remembrances of the frustrations, triumphs, and lessons learned from humankind's first leaps beyond our atmosphere as well as the ups and downs of doing business - the brush with bankruptcy in the postwar years, the merger that formed a billion- dollar multi-industry giant, the defense against a hostile takeover attempt, the rapid recovery in its aftermath, and the 1993 combination with GE Aerospace that created a new Martin Marietta Corporation, the nation's premier aerospace/electronics company. Contents in Ten Parts: Beginnings 1886-1913, Spawning Years 1913-1928, Golden Years 1929-1936, The Clouds of War 1937-45, New Directions 1945-55, Diversification 1955-65, The High Ground 1965-82, Crisis and Opportunity 1982-89, Desert Storm The Proving Ground 1990-92, and A Merger of Marvelous Magnitude 1992 and Beyond. Large heavy book that may incur additional charges for some locations.