William R. Forstchen

William R. Forstchen
Born	October 11, 1950 (1950-10-11) (age 73)
Occupation(s)	historian, novelist
Title	Professor

William R. Forstchen (born October 11, 1950 in Millburn, New Jersey) is an American historian and author who began publishing in 1978 as a contributor to Boys' Life. He is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Purdue University, studying under the historian Professor Gunther E. Rothenberg, with specializations in Military History, the American Civil War and the History of Technology.

Writing

Forstchen is the author of more than forty books, including the award winning We Look Like Men of War, a young adult novel about an African-American regiment that fought at the Battle of the Crater, which is based upon his doctoral dissertation, The 28th USCTs: Indiana's African-Americans go to War, 1863–1865

Forstchen's writing efforts have, in recent years, shifted towards historical fiction, non fiction and technological issues. In 2002 he started the "Gettysburg" trilogy with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; the trilogy consists of Gettysburg, Grant Comes East, and Never Call Retreat. More recently, they have published two works on the events leading up to Pearl Harbor and immediately after that attack Pearl Harbor, and Days of Infamy. They wrote three novels on the American Revolution starting with the publication in 2009 of "To Try Men's Souls," a novel about Washington's crossing of the Delaware and Tom Paine's writing "The American Crisis," In 2010 they released a novel about Valley Forge and the Battle of Monmouth Court House. In 2011, Forstchen's doctoral dissertation on the 28th United States Colored Troops and their role at the Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864, became the basis for a Civil War historical novel "To Set Men Free." Their last work in the series on the Revolution, "Yorktown" was published in 2012.

One Second After and Pillar to the Sky

In March 2009, Dr. Forstchen's novel, One Second After (Tor/Forge/St. Martin's books) was released and immediately reached the New York Times best seller list where it remained for twelve weeks. Based upon several years of intensive research and interviews, it examines what might happen in a "typical" American town in the wake of an attack on the United States with “electro-magnetic pulse” (EMP) weapons. Similar in plotting to books such as On the Beach and Alas, Babylon, One Second After is set in a small college town in western North Carolina and is a cautionary tale of the collapse of social order in the wake of an EMP strike. The book was cited on the floor of Congress and before the House Armed Services Committee by Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), chair of the House Committee tasked to evaluate EMP weapons, as a realistic portrayal of the potential damage rendered by an EMP attack on the continental United States.

Forstchen has been called upon for presentations regarding the threat of EMP before members of Congress, and at STRATCOM, Sandis Labs, and NASA. The book has been printed in over a dozen countries, and been cited as a significant contributing factor to the "Prepper Movement."

On February 11, 2014, Forstchen released his latest book Pillar to the Sky, (Tor/Forge Books of St. Martin’s Press). Although written as a novel, it is intended as a serious look at the building of a Space Elevator, a tower that would rise from the equator to geostationary orbit and beyond in order to revolutionize space transportation in the 21st century. Written in cooperation with NASA and advice from personnel at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Forstchen’s thesis is that just as mega-projects of the 19th and 20th century, such as the building of the transcontinental railroad, Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal, the Interstate Highway System and Apollo invigorated America’s technological prowess and economic growth, the building of a permanent transportation system to high earth orbit would reignite America’s economic and technological prominence in the 21st century. He also presented the concept of how such a tower could be used to "hot wire” limitless non-polluting energy from solar panels deployed in space and thus free earth from dependence on greenhouse gas emitting energy production.

Forstchen is currently working on sequels to both Pillar to the Sky and One Second After.

Public speaking

He is a noted public speaker on a broad diversity of topics ranging from historical topics, to issues of technology and cultural issues, development of space technologies and the role of Judeo-Christian values in the shaping of American Culture.

Personal life

Forstchen resides near Asheville, North Carolina

Bibliography

Magic: The Gathering

1. Arena (1993)

The Lost Regiment Series

Main article: The Lost Regiment

1. Rally Cry (1990)
2. Union Forever (1991)
3. Terrible Swift Sword (1992)
4. Fateful Lightning (1992)
5. Battle Hymn (1997)
6. Never Sound Retreat (1998)
7. A Band of Brothers (1999)
8. Men of War (1999)
9. Down to the Sea (2000)

Ice Prophet series

1. Ice Prophet (1983)
2. The Flame Upon the Ice (1984)
3. A Darkness upon the Ice (1985)

Wing Commander series

• Wing Commander: End Run (1993)
• Wing Commander: Fleet Action (1994)
• Wing Commander: Heart of the Tiger (1995) (along with Andrew Keith)
• Action Stations (1998)

Star Voyager Academy series

• Star Voyager Academy (1994)
• Article 23 (1998)
• Prometheus (1999)

Civil War trilogy

Along with Newt Gingrich and Albert S. Hanser.

1. Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War (2003)
2. Grant Comes East (2004)
3. Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory (2005)

Pacific War series

Main article: Pacific War series

Along with Newt Gingrich.

1. Pearl Harbor (2007)
2. Days of Infamy (2008)

Legends of the Riftwar

Along with Raymond E. Feist.

1. Honoured Enemy (2001)

Historical fiction

• We Look Like Men of War (2003)
• The Battle of the Crater: A Novel (2011) (along with Newt Gingrich and Albert S. Hanser)

George Washington series

Along with Newt Gingrich and Albert S. Hanser.

• To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom (2009)
• Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory (2010)
• Victory at Yorktown (2012)

Star Trek: The Next Generation

• The Forgotten War (1999)

Shattered Light series

• Catseye (1999) (along with Jaki Demarest)

The Gamester Wars trilogy

• The Alexandrian Ring (1987)
• The Assassin Gambit (1988)
• The Napoleon Wager (1993)

Non-fiction

• Hot Shots: An Oral History of the Air Force Combat Pilots of the Korean War (2000) (along with Jennie E. Chancey)
• Hot Shots: America's First Jet Aces (2002) (along with Jennie E. Chancey)
• Honor Untarnished: A West Point Graduate's Memoir of World War II (2003) (wrote introduction)
• It Seemed Like a Good Idea...: A Compendium of Great Historical Fiascoe (2009)

The Crystal series

Along with Greg Morrison.

• The Crystal Warriors (1988)
• The Crystal Sorcerers (1991)

Stand-alone

• Into the Sea of Stars (1986)
• 1945 (1995) (along with Newt Gingrich)
• The Four Magics (1996) (along with Larry Segriff)
• One Second After (2009)
• Doctors of the Night (2011)
• Pillar to the Sky (2014)

Short stories

• "A Hard Day for Mother", published in Alternate Generals (1998)
• "Lee's Victory at Gettysburg… and Then What?", published in Alternate Gettysburgs (2002)

External links

• "Forstchen.com".
• William R. Forstchen at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Fantastic Fiction Author Page