A few days ago I saw three copies of “Lockheed SR-71: Origins and Evolution” at the local Barnes & Noble. I’ve heard of them at others as well.
It is, of course, also available on Amazon. I keep waiting to see reviews pop up there, but so far… nada. Not a single review on Amazon, which seems a little odd.
Woo:
This book looks interesting:
Celebrate Star Trek: The Original Series and the show’s distinctive Midcentury modern design that would change design– and television–forever.
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969) was the first installment of one of the most successful and longest-running television franchises of all time. Today, Trek fans champion its writing, progressive social consciousness, and aesthetic. Designing the Final Frontier is a unique, expert look at the mid-century modern design that created and inspired that aesthetic. From Burke chairs to amorphous sculptures, from bright colors to futuristic frames, Star Trek TOS is bursting with mid-century modern furniture, art, and design elements—many of them bought directly from famous design showrooms.
Together, midcentury modern design experts Dan Chavkin and Brian McGuire have created an insider’s guide to the interior of original starship Enterprise and beyond, that is sure to attract Star Trek’s thriving global fan base.
After the atrocities of STD and STP I’m not sure the Trek fanbase is “thriving,” but some of us are old enough to be fans of TOS.
But if you can only buy one book on Amazon, buy ten copies of this:
It seems to be available there now, though there are as yet no reviews. Plus, the price seems to jump all over the place.
Note: I’m hoping to finish up the 18X24 CAD diagram prints in the next day or two for those who want signed copies. Sorry it’s taken so long… I’m *still* buried under the B-47/52 project.
Two boxes with fifty copies of “SR-71” showed up yesterday. Woo! These will be signed and with any luck at all sold.
As previously mentioned, I’m working on a pair of 18X24 prints to go with the signed copies. if you’re on the mailing list, you should have recently received a message (or three… email continues to be problematic) about this.
Here’s a glimpse of the work in progress.
I’ve contacted the publisher and will get a supply of bookazines to be signed. However, since they’re being shipped from Europe, the costs are a bit high so I’ll have to charge a few bucks more than the basic cover price for them. In order to make it worthwhile for those who get them, I plan on including an extra or two. Currently planning on something like an 18X24 print or two of diagrams from the book, scaled up and tinkered with, also numbered and signed. It will be a while before the books get here, so I’ve some time to get the prints just right. And given that a box of books could get wedged into the Suez Canal or redirected into the Bermuda Triangle or impaled on some rebar, I won’t take orders until they are on hand.
I had a local print shop print up nine separate sheets… 2 SR-71A, 1 YF-12A, 1 M21/D21, 1 XF-103, 2 XF-108, 1 A-12, 1 CL-400 Suntan. I also printed up a test sheet with four copies of the same bit of an SR-71, but with the line weights and colors adjusted (I should’ve done that first. Ooops.). Along with adjusting the weights/colors, there will be improvements to the diagrams themselves, additional details and information added. The blue in the windows will be dispensed with… that tiny bit of color triples the cost. Most likely the “bonus” will be one or two sheets of the SR-71A, but if there is enough interest in the others, I’ll figure it out. The prints will also be numbered and signed, and will only be available along with the signed books. They will also be shipped fabulously folded into quarters (as seen in the “lineweight test print” in the photos below) in order to ship with the books.
Please note industry standard feline scale reference.
If you want on the list of people interested in ordering a signed copy when the time comes, send me an email: 
It is available directly through the publisher for £8.99 (Approx $12.41 or €10.34). It is also available through Amazon for pre-order for $12.99. Or it will be available through me for a little more, in a little while.
The idea has been floated of selling signed copies of “SR-71.” I’m currently checking into what I could get a box of issues for to see if it would make sense to try to sell a few copies my own self. Given that they’re coming from Europe, postage might be a concept-killer for this. If it’s close, what I might do is charge a bit more… and add a bit more. 11X17 or 18X24 prints of a few of the snazzier diagrams, perhaps.
Who would be interested? I’m not taking orders, just trying to judge interest. If interested at (handwave) $13-$15 plus postage, send me an email:
By the way: Amazon now says that this will be released on July 28, moved up substantially from September.
How do they know???
Mortons has posted a preview “sampler” of my “Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird” bookazine. You can take a look and see if it’s for you.
It is available directly through the publisher for £8.99 (Approx $12.41 or €10.34). It is also available through Amazon for pre-order for $12.99. Direct from the publisher should be available sooner; from Amazon, lower mailing cost if you’re in the US.
Mortons has announced my “bookazine” Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird – Origins & Evolution, now available for pre-order. This is my first published book. Woo! It covers the development of the SR-71 from well before the program started , including the “Suntan” concepts and several Convair high speed reconnaissance platforms, up through the development of the “Archangel” series that led to the CIA’s A-12, through the Mach 3 interceptor designs and the SR-71 itself. From there it also includes a number of proposed derivatives and unbuilt concepts… an A-12 used to launch satellites, the SR-71 as a carrier for a manned hypersonic scramjet vehicle, the use of the “SR-71C” as a flying wind tunnel, etc.
It is available directly through the publisher for £8.99 (Approx $12.41 or €10.34). It is also available through Amazon for pre-order for $12.99. Direct from the publisher should be available sooner; from Amazon, lower mailing cost if you’re in the US.
Here are some shots of a few pages to give you an idea of what’s in it. I created all the diagrams within, based on official sources and as accurate as I could make them. There are many, MANY diagrams here describing designs mundane and downright wacky, from tiny unmanned drones to truly gigantic hydrogen-fueled monsters.
Tell your friends!