The book, Barons Of The Sky tells the story of American Aerospace Industry from early flight to strategic warfare.  "Barons Of The Sky" highlights the aviation pioneers whose business interests resulted in the large American corporations of Lockheed, Martin Marietta, Northrop and McDonnell Douglas.  These pioneers included Allan & Malcolm Loughead of Lockheed, Glenn Martin of Martin Marietta, Jack Northrop of Northrop and Donald Douglas of McDonnell Douglas.  This fascinating story begins in the early years of the 20th century when anyone who chose to manufacture flying machines lived on the fringes of "polite society".  These corporations were largely formed to late to produce aircraft for World War I but grew in size as the United States headed into the Great Depression.  The American aircraft industry weathered these financially turbulent times by turning themselves into an international munitions business.  On the eve of World War II, the politicians in Washington D.C. turned to the American Aircraft Industry to build the aircraft and munitions necessary to fight and win a global war.  Seizing the opportunity to produce on a scale never before seen, the American aircraft industry turned out a staggering 304,139 aircraft for the military services by the time World War II formally ended with the surrender of Imperial Japan in early September 1945.  "Barons Of The Sky" tells the American aerospace story by weaving together institutional history and individual biography along with new untapped sources.  The years of uncertainty were followed by the "bonanza" of World War II and finally the cutthroat post war market when the industry began consolidating in order to survive.  The major sections of "Barons Of The Sky" are as follows: 1) Foreword; 2) Prologue - Fantasies; 3) Chapter 1 - Invention Before Industry; 4) Chapter 2 - Money-Minded Eccentrics; 5) Chapter 3 - Southern California; 6) Chapter 4 - The Great Proposition; 7) Chapter 5 - The Rat Race; 8) Chapter 6 - Depression; 9) Chapter 7 - Merchants Of Death; 10) Chapter 8 - Exports; 11) Chapter 9 - The Iron Cornucopia; 12) Chapter 10 - Permanent Rearmament; 13) Epilogue - Fates; 14) Notes; 15) Select Bibliography and 16) Index.  In addition to an informative narrative, " Barons Of The Sky" includes approximately 40 black and white photographs.  In summary, "Barons Of The Sky" tells a thrilling story of how obsessed men chased their dreams of flight, as well as, success and in the process created the modern American aerospace weapons industry.  This book is 366 pages and is in excellent condition.  The author is Wayne Biddle.  Edition published in 1991.