Steven Lynn Thompson (born 1948) is an author, magazine journalist, historian of technology and former motorcycle racer.
Early life and education
Steven Lynn Thompson was born May 27, 1948 at Ft. Sam Houston,
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
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to career US Air Force pilot Major Ray Lynn Thompson (1921–1991) and his wife, Velma Mildred Thompson (1923–1991).
[ He holds a BA in History from the ]University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
and served in the US Air Force from 1968 to 1972.[
]
Writing
As an author, Thompson wrote five Cold War thrillers during the 1980s (''Recovery'', ''Countdown to China'','' Bismarck Cross'', ''Airburst'' and ''Top End''), in which he explored such themes as the role of the US Military Liaison Mission in Potsdam, East Germany, in both clandestine intelligence gathering and in resolving East-West tensions, as well as the reunification of East and West Germany, the coming of the Islamic Jihad to the United States via general aviation aircraft used for terror, and the consequences of contracting to private companies the role of coastal surveillance. The 1988 movie '' Honor Bound'', directed by Jeannot Szwarc
Jeannot Szwarc (born November 21, 1939) is a French director of film and television, known for such films as ''Jaws 2'', ''Somewhere in Time'', ''Supergirl'' and '' Santa Claus: The Movie''. He has also produced and written for TV.
Life and ca ...
and starring Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962. He is known for his film roles in ''M*A*S*H'', ''Alien'', '' The Dead Zone'', ''Top Gun'', '' A R ...
, was based on ''Recovery'', but not released in the United States after audience previews. In 1985, Thompson invited Walter J. Boyne, then Director of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum and a columnist for'' AOPA Pilot'' at Thompson’s request, to join him in co-authoring a social history of the United States Air Force. Boyne had completed a career in the Air Force and Thompson had been born and bred in the service, as well as serving in it during the Viet Nam war. Boyne subsequently agreed to co-author the book but argued that it should be fiction, and it was sold to Crown Publishers in 1985 by Thompson’s literary agent, Jacques de Spoelberch, who represented both authors. Published in 1986 in hardback, the resulting novel, '' The Wild Blue: The Novel of the U.S. Air Force'', became a national best-seller. The Aviation/Space Writers Association awarded Boyne and Thompson its 1986 Journalism Award for fiction in aviation books for the novel.
Thompson's 2008 book ''Bodies in Motion: Evolution and Experience in Motorcycling'', published by Aero Design and Manufacturing, was described by author Melissa Holbrook Pierson
Melissa Holbrook Pierson (born December 14, 1957)"Melissa Holbrook Pierson." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 3 June 2011. is a writer and essayist of non-fiction.
Biography
Pierson was born in Akr ...
as "the most important book ever written on the subject" of motorcycling, and is recommended reading in the ''Idiot's Guide
The ''Complete Idiot's Guides'' is a product line of how-to and other reference books published by Dorling Kindersley (DK). The books in this series provide a basic understanding of a complex and popular topics. The term "idiot" is used as hyperb ...
'' series. In it, Thompson investigates the psychology of motorcycle riding and "what our vehicles of automobility do to, and not just for, their operators," through the lens of evolutionary biology
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life fo ...
and psychology. For the book, he also commissioned the Stanford University Smart Products Design Lab to test nine motorcycles for their unique vibration signatures in an attempt to quantify the differences described by enthusiasts. ''Bodies in Motion'' received reviews in academic journals.
During Thompson's career in magazines, he helped set circulation records at every publication he directed as editor-in-chief, editorial director, or executive editor, and as a consultant, he redesigned both ''Autoweek
''Autoweek'' is a car culture publication based in Detroit, Michigan. It was first published in 1958 and in 1977 the publication was purchased by Crain Communications Inc, its current parent company. The magazine was published weekly and focused ...
'' in 1986 and ''Cycle Guide'' in 1978. He wrote hundreds of editorial columns and features for the magazines he edited, including a monthly column for'' AutoWeek ''called "At Large" from 1994 to 2008, and a monthly column also called "At Large" for ''Cycle World
''Cycle World'' is a motorcycling magazine in the United States. It was founded in 1962 by Joe Parkhurst, who was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame as "the person responsible for bringing a new era of objective journalism" to the US. ''Cyc ...
'' from 1986 to 1991; his 1986 "At Large" column entitled "Talking Tees" was awarded a "Maggie Award for Excellence" by the Western Publications Association.[29th Annual Western Publications Association Awards of Excellence, May 2, 1986, Los Angeles; Maggie Certificate is presented to Cycle World: Talking Tees for Excellence in the Category of Best Signed Editorial or Essay] Also, his "At Large" column "Silver Wing for a Silver Eagle", from the April, 1989 ''Cycle World'', was selected for inclusion in ''The Devil Can Ride: The World's Best Motorcycle Writing'', (Lee Klancher
Lee Klancher's career encompasses more than 30 years of publishing stories. As an editor and publisher, he has overseen the development of some of the best-selling books in the transportation niche. A prolific author and photographer, Lee has contr ...
, ed.), p. 260. At the publisher's request, Thompson also authorized ''Urban Moto Magazine'' to reprint some of his ''Cycle World'' "At Large" columns.
As a historian, Thompson wrote essay reviews and reviewed books for the Society for the History of Technology's journal, ''Technology & Culture'', and was named an Advisory Editor for the journal. He also published historical-analysis articles in ''Air & Space/Smithsonian'', for which he was a consulting, and later a contributing editor, as well as in ''American Heritage of Invention & Technology
''Invention & Technology Magazine'' (formerly known as ''American Heritage of Invention & Technology'') is a quarterly magazine dedicated to the history of technology. It was launched with sponsorship from General Motors in the summer of 1985 as a ...
'', and in automotive, aviation and motorcycle special-interest publications.
Motorcycle racing
As a motorcycle racer, Thompson competed in the US, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. He also competed three times in the Isle of Man; in the 1970 and 1971 Manx Grands Prix, he was unable to start the Junior (350cc) race on his Shepherd-Kawasaki because of machine failures in practice and qualifying. In 1987, racing as the sole rider for Team ''Cycle World'', he entered the Formula One and 750 Production TT races in May–June, and completed both races, lapping in the 750 Production race at 101.2 mph, making him the first American journalist and fourth American professional racer to have lapped the TT course at over "the ton"—100 mph.[
Thompson also was a member of Team Cycle World's successful attempts in 1985 to set new World Speed Records on standard US-specification Suzuki GSX-R750s at the ]Uniroyal
The company formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, now Uniroyal, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemi ...
tire-proving course in Laredo, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Two motorcycles were used, and Thompson rode both in the shorter-duration classification and the 24-hour event, in the process being awarded, with the rest of the team, 6, 12, and 24-hour FIM World Speed Records.
Professional timeline
*August 1972–March 1973: Freelance commercial artist
*March 1973–Oct. 1974: Art Director and Senior Editor, '' Competition Press & Autoweek'' magazine, Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...
, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
*Oct. 1974–Dec. 1976: Editor-in-Chief, ''Road Test'' magazine, Compton
Compton may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district
* Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton
* Compton, Que ...
, CA
*Jan 1977–May 1978; Executive Editor, ''Car and Driver
''Car and Driver'' (''CD'' or ''C/D'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. In 2006 its total circulation was 1.23 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011. It was fou ...
'' magazine, New York City, NY
*July 1978–Jan. 1980; Editorial Director, ''Cycle Guide'' magazine
*Jan 1980–Dec. 1981; Director of Editorial Development, ''Cycle Guide'' Publications
*April 1982–Oct 1984, Executive Editor, ''AOPA Pilot'' magazine
*1982–1985, Editor-at-Large, ''Cycle Guide'' magazine
*Jan 1983–Oct 1984, Vice President, Publications Division, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...
*1985–1992, Editor-at-Large, ''Cycle World'' magazine
*1993–2007, Senior Contributing Editor, ''AutoWeek'' magazine
*Since 2005, Outside Editor, ''Range'' magazine
*December 2011–December 2017, Contributing Editor, ''Cycle World''[Thompson first appears in ''CW'' Contributing Editors list in December 2011, verified
*
*
*
* Last appeared on masthead in December 2017 issue.]
Books
*''Recovery'', fiction, Warner Books
Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...
, hardcover 1980, ; softcover, 1981; with foreign editions in Italy, Holland, and Japan
*''Countdown to China'', fiction, Warner Books, softcover, 1982, ; foreign editions
*''Bismarck Cross'', fiction, Tor Books, softcover, 1983, ; foreign editions
*''The Wild Blue
''The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who Flew the B-24s over Germany'', by historian and best selling author Stephen Ambrose, was a The New York Times Non-Fiction Best Sellers of 2001, ''New York Times'' best selling non-fiction book published in 2 ...
'', fiction, (with Walter J. Boyne), Crown Publishers, hardcover 1985, ; softcover 1987; foreign editors
* ''Airburst'', fiction, Worldwide, softcover, 1987, ; foreign editions
*''Top End'', fiction, Worldwide, softcover, 1989, ; foreign editions
*''Bodies in Motion: Evolution and Experience in Motorcycling'', non-fiction, Aero Design, 2008, softcover,
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Steven L.
American male journalists
American motorcycle racers
University of California, Berkeley alumni
1948 births
Writers from San Antonio
Living people
American male novelists
Motorcycling writers
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Texas
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American male writers