General Discussion > Spaceflight Entertainment and Hobbies
Spaceflight Book Thread
elmarko:
Over the past 12 months or so, I've been acquiring a decent collection of spaceflight-based books, so I thought I'd start a thread for catch-all discussion.
Use this thread to recommend a book, review or critique a book, post news about upcoming books, or to ask for some ideas of what to buy.
Here's the books I've bought in the past 12 months:
Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut: http://www.amazon.com/Riding-Rockets-Outrageous-Shuttle-Astronaut/dp/0743276825 - Needs no introduction. I immensely enjoyed this and frequently laughed out loud.
Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Moon-Rising-Sputnik-Rivalries/dp/080508858X/ref=ed_oe_p - I really enjoyed this, but I've heard criticism of it.
How to Build Your Own Spaceship: The Science of Personal Space Travel: http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Build-Your-Own-Spaceship/dp/1846271258 - A bit of a light read, but entertaining enough. Talks about commercial spaceflight a lot.
Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond: http://www.amazon.com/Failure-Not-Option-Mission-Control/dp/0743200799 - I am half way through this and it is fantastic. Gene Kranz's recollections are very detailed and entertaining, and it's great to read about how the MCC teams were developed during the 60s.
Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moondust-Search-Men-Fell-Earth/dp/0747563683 - I haven't started this yet. Also it was in Richard and Judy's book club. If you aren't from the UK, basically they are a TV presenting husband and wife who think they are qualified to review books. Quite popularist. However I suppose it's good that they decided to take a look at something like this and introduce it to the general public.
Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Side-Moon-Magnificent-American/dp/0224075934 - Haven't started this yet either ;) I bought it without knowing about it, just saw it in a shop and thought it looked good. I then found out that apparently it is riddled with inaccuracies, and is a bit crap. Can anyone confirm?
I am looking for recommendations of what to buy next. I have read enough about the early days and the 60s to last me a good while, but I have been looking at the Chris Kraft book. Is that any good? I'm after some Space Shuttle-related stuff now. I've gleaned from reading threads on NSF that the Jenkins book about the first 100 missions is quite a good one, so I'll be ordering that from America soon. I'd love to see some suggestions for the history of the craft, it's early design and testing, etc. Maybe some astronaut books to complement Riding Rockets.
elmarko:
Seen as this is going slower than I thought, I'll bump it by noting that today I'm probably going to buy the Brian Burrough book "Dragonfly" about the Shuttle/Mir missions and the issues surrounding them.
Anyone read it?
gomorrha:
Not really fitting into this thread - but for those having problems reading a book or simply more enjoy watching space and spaceflight stuff, here is my favorite link:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Zuke696&view=playlists
Suzy:
--- Quote from: elmarko on 01/13/2009 11:43 am ---Seen as this is going slower than I thought, I'll bump it by noting that today I'm probably going to buy the Brian Burrough book "Dragonfly" about the Shuttle/Mir missions and the issues surrounding them.
Anyone read it?
--- End quote ---
Yes, I have it on my bookshelf - it is quite entertaining, though perhaps not for those written about! Astronaut Jerry Linenger is portrayed especially unflatteringly (in contrast to his own biography, Off the Planet!).
DMeader:
--- Quote from: Suzy on 01/13/2009 07:21 pm ---
--- Quote from: elmarko on 01/13/2009 11:43 am ---Seen as this is going slower than I thought, I'll bump it by noting that today I'm probably going to buy the Brian Burrough book "Dragonfly" about the Shuttle/Mir missions and the issues surrounding them.
Anyone read it?
--- End quote ---
Yes, I have it on my bookshelf - it is quite entertaining, though perhaps not for those written about! Astronaut Jerry Linenger is portrayed especially unflatteringly (in contrast to his own biography, Off the Planet!).
--- End quote ---
I wasn't impressed by Linenger's book. He seemed to consider himself quite the hero. Don't think I'd recommend this one.
I enjoyed "Dragonfly", both for the technical accounts of the Phase One program on Mir as well as the descriptions of the various personalities.
"Riding Rockets" by Mike Mullane was good, once again for the insights into various personalities. Especially the portrayal of John Young, or at least how Mullane saw him. This one seems to be out of print already.
I wish Shannon Lucid would write a book. Oh, and if you haven't bought "Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System" by Dennis R. Jenkins, get it first.
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