Literally Wrote The Book On Skydiving In 1978

Dan Poynter, the author of "Parachuting: The Skydiver's Handbook" and many other titles, passed away Monday following a recent diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia and renal failure. He was 77 years old.

Poynter was the author of more than 130 books and more than 800 magazine articles, according to Wikipedia. However, he began his career managing a parachute company in California, according to a rememberance posted to Dropzone.com. From that, he went on to be involved in parachute design, and became a specialist in that field. One of his early books, "The Parachute Manual—A Technical Treatise on the Parachute", was released in 1972.

He was also an avid skydiver and hang glider. His book "Parachuting: The Skydiver's Handbook", first published in 1978, has been called one of the "cornerstones of skydiving literature." The book took a turn away from his normally technical writing to include information and advice for skydivers of all skill levels. He later wrote the bestseller "Hang Gliding", which remains one of his most-recognized works.

Poynter also founded Para Publishing. According to Dropzone.com, he realized that when writing for a niche audience, self-publishing was the most effective way to bring books to market. Poynter handled all of the writing, publishing, promotion, and order fulfillment for his company. He became a sought-after motivational speaker, and began publishing books on publishing.

Poynter was also an innovator in the online world. Dropzone reports that he was engaged in e-commerce as early as 1996, many years before it became ubiquitous on the web.

FMI: Full Rememberance