2006-2007 Speakers Bureau Catalog
MICHAEL GOC
Michael Goc is a veteran print and radio journalist. He is the author/editor of numerous scholarly and popular articles and over 70 books on Wisconsin historical subjects, including aviation, business and conservation, as well as numerous cities, counties, villages, and regions. Eight of his books have received Awards of Merit from the Wisconsin Historical Society, including Powder, People and Place (2003) and Forward in Flight (1998), the definitive history of aviation in Wisconsin. Goc is also a member of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in Oshkosh. He is the founder and president of the New Past Press Inc., which specializes in publishing historical books by Wisconsin authors.
Address: P.O. Box 558, Friendship, WI 53934
Phone: 608-339-7191 (work), 608-339-7191 (fax)
E-mail: newpast@maqs.net
Powder, People and Place
The Badger Army Ammunition Plant near Baraboo was one of the nation's largest producers of high explosive propellants for the United States military in World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Cold War, and the war in Vietnam. Based on his research for the award-winning book,
Powder, People, and Place, Goc will recount the story of the plant's construction on 10,500 acres of confiscated Sauk Prairie farmland, its operation as a vital supplier of ammunition for three decades, and its social, economic, and environmental impact on Wisconisin. He will also raise questions about the extent of a citizen's obligation to sacrifice in wartime and the boundaries of dissent in time of war, particularly in the 1940s and 1960s.
Aviation History
Wisconsin has a surprisingly significant and interesting aviation history. It begins with County Ferdinand von Zeppelin, continues with World War I hero General Billy Mitchell, airline inventor Alfred Lawson, air mail pilots, aircraft builders, inventors and eccentricsm, and culminates with the contributions of Paul Poberezny, who founded the world's largest general aviation organization-the Experimental Aircraft Association in Hales Corners in 1954. Based on his award-winning book,
Forward in Flight, The History of Aviation in Wisconsin, Goc will present an entertaining and locally focused view of Wisconsin's ventures into flight.
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