Jon Guttman

Leesburg

Born in Flushing, New York on January 3, 1951 and brought up in the little Hudson River town of Palisades, N.Y., Jon Guttman got his Master’s Degree in European History from the State University of New York at Albany in 1975. Since July 1988, he has lived and worked in Leesburg, as senior editor, research director and contributing writer for the magazines currently published by Weider Publications. He was editor of Modern Warfare magazine from 1989 to 1990 and of Military History magazine from 1995 to 2006. He is currently research editor for the Weider History Group and publications such as Military History, World War II, Aviation History, America’s Civil War, Civil War Times Illustrated, Vietnam and Wild West.

Best-known internationally for his research and writing in the field of World War I aviation—an interest that evolved from his childhood, both from building models and reading his father’s old aviation magazines from the 1930s—Mr. Guttman has also written numerous articles on naval history and World War II aviation. His first book on the former subject, Defiance at Sea, was published in Britain in 1995 and has been reprinted twice since. A book on aviation, Fighting Firsts, was published in London in March 2000. He is the editor and contributing author of the book Great Commanders in Action, and a contributing editor and co-author in Desert Storm. In addition to his many World War I-related magazine articles, he has written softback monographs on the Nieuport 28, Caudron G.3, Caudron G.4, American D.H.4, Salmson 2A2, Nieuport Pilots of the Lafayette and the experimental James V. Martin K.III Kitten fighter of World War I and co-authored Salmson Aircraft of World War I and Spad Two-Seat Fighters of World War I. He has also published four books for Osprey’s Aircraft of the Aces series, Spad VII Aces of World War 1, Spad XII and XIII Aces of World War1, Balloon Busting Aces of World War 1, Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War 1 and Pusher Aces of World War 1, as well as three more for that publisher’s elite units series—N.124 Lafayette Escadrille, Groupe de Combat 12 Les Cigognes and USAS 1st Pursuit Group; and Duel series books Sopwith Camel vs Fokker Dr I , SPAD XIII vs Fokker D VII. and SE 5 vs Albatros D V.

A resident of Leesburg since 1988, Jon served more than 20 years in the Army National Guard, retiring as a master sergeant in the 29th Infantry Division (Light) effective January 15, 2005. In June 1994, he went to Normandy as a member of the 29th’s Color Guard, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the division’s participation in the D-Day invasion of France. He was also called to active service in and around Washington, D.C., during the January 1996 blizzard, and on peacekeeping duty in Bosnia and Herzegovina between September 2001 and April 2002.

King Kong (the original and still the best), The Producers, Zulu, Scaramouche, The Dawn Patrol (1938), Duck Soup, The Bank Dick, The Invisible Man, Yojimbo, Forbidden Planet, Voyna i Mir (if I’ve got the time!), The Black Cat (with Boris and Bela), Hombre, Slap Shot, The General (Buster Keaton’s, that is), Ride the High Country.

Medieval, World War I, World War II.