> By the time the war was over, U.S. science and engineering had blown past the British, and led the world for 85 years

Was this written in 2030? The war ended in 1945.

Just a minor nit... It was jarring to see a statement of questionable accuracy in the opening paragraph.

If you read carefully, there is no strict implication that the 85 years of leading only begun after the end of the war. If it began 1940, the quoted sentence would still be correct.