Russ Banham is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and author of 31 books, including Higher, an acclaimed history of Boeing and the U.S aviation industry; The Ford Century, the award-winning, international best-selling history of Ford Motor Company, translated into 13 languages; Rocky Mountain ...more

Russ Banham is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and author of 31 books, including Higher, an acclaimed history of Boeing and the U.S aviation industry; The Ford Century, the award-winning, international best-selling history of Ford Motor Company, translated into 13 languages; Rocky Mountain Legend, the national best-selling biography of the Coors brewing dynasty; Wanderlust, a tale of Banham’s travels in an iconic Airstream travel trailer; and the first and second editions of The Fight for Fairfax, an economic history of the Greater Washington Region. Russ’s expertise as a business journalist and corporate historian encouraged Harvard Business School to ask him to write its 100-year history. The book, Problem Solving (co-written with HBS Professor Emeritus Howard Stevenson), features the stories of more than 200 HBS alumni. Russ also has written more than 6,000 articles for scores of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Inc., Forbes, The Economist, Financial Times, Fortune, The Atlantic, Chief Executive, CFO, U.S. News and World Report, Corporate Board Member, and many others. In 1987, he was nominated by The Journal of Commerce for a Pulitzer Prize, honoring the investigative series of articles he wrote disputing government reports that the Soviet Union had bugged the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Russ's books have received much acclaim. The New York Times review of The Ford Century stated, "Not only the Ford fan but the most casual student of American industrial history can get caught up in the saga." The book was selected as one of the five best books ever written about Detroit. January magazine hailed it as “a masterpiece of automotive writing.” Aviation Weeks called Higher a “meticulously researched overview" that "masterfully captures the broad history and spirit of (Boeing) as it has evolved over the decades.” The Wall Street Journal's review stated, “`Higher' ably commemorates Boeing’s enduring achievement, gliding nimbly through its triumphs of design, engineering and manufacture and, not least, its memorable contributions to wars won.” Russ's various books have led to several television appearances, including ABC/2020, The Today Show and A&E Biography. He is featured in the documentaries, How Factories Changed the World and Alumination, and in Walter Isaacson’s Trailblazer podcast. As a young man, Russ was a successful playwright, director and actor, costarring in Meatballs with Bill Murray, acting on Broadway with Zero Mostel, and costarring in the short lived Norman Lear sitcom Joe’s World on NBC.less