Martin Caidin
Martin Strasser Caidin ( born September 14, 1927 in New York City; † March 24, 1997 in Tallahassee, Florida) was an American non-fiction and science fiction author.
Life
Martin Caidin was early for an orphan and grew up partly in the children's home, partly on the farm of his grandparents in upstate New York. He was very interested in art; his first article on the design of the Messerschmitt fighter planes, he published at the age of 16 years. In 1945, he joined the Merchant Navy and worked for several years in Japan. In the Air Force, he served from 1947 to 1950 and brought it to the sergeant. He then moved to Florida where he pursued flying as a hobby and cooperated in one of the early Raumfahrtprgramme. Afterwards he worked until 1964 as a consultant for various airlines.
He also wrote non-fiction books about space travel, military history and aviation a series of science fiction novels, one of which was filmed in 1969 under the title Lost in Space. When re- publication of the novel the film's release, the text of 1964 was heavily modified and adapted to technical progress of the space program. Caidin also wrote the Steve Austin - cycle The Six Million Dollar Man ( and the offshoot of the seven- million-dollar woman) was the inspiration for the film and the TV series. After these successes Hollywood producers bought the film rights to nearly every book of the author, but there were only a few actually filmed. Probably the most successful film adaptation of one of his books is The Final Countdown of 1980. A time travel story to the American aircraft carrier Nimitz, one day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 added. The book became a movie star-studded among others, with Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen and Katharine Ross. After all Caidin had financially secure in this way and was able to devote his dearest hobby of flying.
Caidin restored the oldest still flying Junkers Ju 52, which was called by him " Iron Annie ". She later went to Lufthansa and is still used today for VIP flights.
He died at the age of 69 years to thyroid cancer.
Works
Non-fiction books (selection)
Science fiction
- Steve- Austin - cycle: 1972: Cyborg, dt The corrected man, Goldmann 1974
- 1973: Operation Nuke, Germany The Man Machine
- 1974: High Crystal, dt The street of the gods
- 1975: Cyborg IV, dt Cyborg IV, Bastion - Luebbe 1979
- Indiana Jones - novels: 1993: Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates, dt Indiana Jones and the hyenas of the sky, Goldmann 1996
- 1994: Indiana Jones and the White Witch, dt Indiana Jones and the White Witch, Goldmann 1997