A New Biography
Those Who Know
the Sky
Hobey Baker · The Dawn of Aviation · The War to End All Wars
By Thomas F. Margiotti
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A Life Lived at the
Edge of the Possible
"He was the most perfect athlete America had ever produced — and the most tragic."
Hobey Baker — Princeton's golden boy, America's first hockey superstar, and one of the most celebrated athletes of the early twentieth century. Then the war came.
Those Who Know the Sky traces Baker's extraordinary arc from the ice rinks and football fields to the mud-soaked aerodromes of wartime France, where he flew with the 141st Aero Squadron, and became an American icon. But what was the truth about his life and his mysterious death? Journey back to the early days of aviation, the Great War, and a truth more compelling than the legend.
Drawing on newly discovered documents, squadron diaries, and archival records from both sides of the Atlantic, this is the definitive account of a man who embodied an age — and was consumed by it.
Hobey Baker in France, 1918
About the Author
Thomas F. Margiotti
Thomas Margiotti is a former homicide prosecutor and forensics professor. His book focuses on the intersection of sport, war, and American identity in the early twentieth century. A graduate of Villanova University and Delaware Law School, he spent years researching Hobey Baker's life, traveling to archives in France, England, and across the United States.
Their previous work has appeared in [Publications], and they have lectured at [Institutions]. Those Who Know the Sky is his first book.
"I first encountered Hobey Baker in a footnote," the author writes. "I couldn't stop until I understood how a man so celebrated could vanish so completely from our memory."
Praise
"Long overdue, this thorough and meticulously researched account sets the historical record straight for an American icon. A top shelf addition to the chronicle of the founders of American military aviation."
— Michael J. O'Neal, Past President, League of World War I Aviation Historians
"Those Who Know the Sky reads like the best kind of literary journalism — authoritative and utterly alive."
— [Reviewer Name], [Publication]
"A beautifully written book about a fascinating time in history and a truly remarkable hero. A captivating page turner — engaging, uplifting, and inspiring. I loved it."
— Tim Whitehead, Former Head Coach, University of Maine; 2002 NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year
Get the Book
Those Who Know
the Sky
By Thomas F. Margiotti
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