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smith5se
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« Reply #90 on: 07/26/2009 07:12 PM » |
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Not heard of it either. Is it some cobbled together thing?
Not sure, just picked it up yesterday from the library and was going to start reading it tonight. Some of the chapter titles are pretty attention catching and at first glance it seems to be a chronological book following the STS, also has some information on the future in it. I'm sure though my opinion of the book will greatly differ from those here that are in the know and have far more knowledge about the shuttle than I do (if there are errors or anything within the pages). The author, mentioned in the book, is a senior news analyst at a public radio station in the area so I'm not too sure how technical the book will get either or if that right there just spells disaster.
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elmarko
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« Reply #91 on: 07/29/2009 09:29 AM » |
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Does this really belong in Historical Spaceflight? Some of the books seem to be about recent things.
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the_other_Doug
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« Reply #92 on: 07/29/2009 09:44 PM » |
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I've been perusing this thread for a bit and decided to weigh in.
The best overall histories of the Apollo era are "Apollo: Race to the Moon" by Murray and Bly-Cox, taken as a set with Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon." These are each superbly written and researched -- there are no embarrassing factual errors in either of them. Together, they tell a very comprehensive story of the Apollo era, Chaikin from the flight crews' aspect and Murray and Bly-Cox from the point of view of the engineers who made it all happen.
Unfortunately, "accurate" cannot be used to describe Gene Kranz's "Failure is Not an Option," which is an enjoyable reminiscence, but falls woefully short on factual accuracy. Kranz said that his method of researching the book was to get together three or four of his old MOCR friends and teammates at a sitting, kill a case or two of beer amongst them, and tape-record the recollections of everyone. Obviously, the memories of a team of drunk ex-flight controllers are not as accurate as the documentation of the missions created at the time (of which Kranz seems to have taken little or no advantage).
"Moon Shot," supposedly by Shepard and Slayton, is full of not just inaccuracies but downright fictional events. As one minor example, the book has Shepard explaining to Mitchell during their descent to the Moon how no recalcitrant landing radar was going to keep *him* from landing on the Moon, and has him literally calling out the radar and daring it to force him to make a fully manual landing. It was presented as the "American Hero Who Can Take Any Situation And Make It Come Out Right!" as opposed to what actually happened. If you read the transcriptions of the onboard recordings (which picked up every single word the crew spoke during descent), Shepard said absolutely *nothing* to Mitchell about the radar problem during the descent, with the exception of reminding Mitchell, after he reported to Houston for the third time that the landing radar had not yet locked on, "I think they know that." And according to Mitchell, Shepard said nothing about it during descent or after the landing until, well after the onboard recorder was turned off, Mitchell finally asked him what he would have done had the radar never locked on. Shepard's response? A grinning "You'll never know!"
I have issues with books that rewrite the tightly documented and recorded history of Apollo just to make the author(s) appear heroic. I always felt that kind of self-aggrandizement was beneath both Shepard and Slayton.
Another poor book, in my opinion, was "First Man," which purported to be the only "true" biography of Neil Armstrong. It was filled with little tidbits along the lines of "this would have defeated most pilots, but not the First Man!" And other things, like "NASA wanted its most heroic astronaut to take the first steps on the Moon, so they went to the First Man!" It portrays Armstrong as a kind of superman, semi-Godlike, with foreknowledge of his future and his place in history. It was a tremendous disappointment -- more like watching a besotted hero-worshiper being embarrassingly over-complimentary to his hero, making you feel uncomfortable around the guy.
The best astronaut-authored book? "Carrying the Fire" by Mike Collins, none else comes close. Collins is a tremendously entertaining writer and story-teller whose literary works stand up all by themselves, whether or not the author once flew to the Moon. Of the other astronaut-authored autobiographies, the weakest of those I have read was "Schirra's Space," in which we discover that being a member of the Association of Test Pilots (if I recall the name of the association properly) was far more important to Schirra than ever having gone into space. It shows Schirra as a singularly uninvolved person who, while a fine pilot, was simply not in the same league intellectually with most of the rest of his compadres -- and was almost humorously unaware of just how far below his fellows he actually was.
The best book on a single Apollo flight? "Thirteen, the Flight that Failed," by Henry S.F. Cooper of New York Times fame. A very well-researched retelling of the events of Apollo 13, this was the seminal work upon which all later books about 13 (including Lovell's own) owes structure and a motherload of details on how the flight controllers met the challenges they faced in getting the crew home.
-the other Doug
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elmarko
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« Reply #93 on: 07/30/2009 11:27 AM » |
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An interesting read, thanks Doug. I'll definitely check out Carrying the Fire. I've had it recommended before.
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elmarko
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« Reply #94 on: 08/03/2009 10:48 AM » |
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Actually, Doug, I already have a few books from the Apollo timeframe. Will Carrying the Fire give me anything I don't already know. I'm trying not to duplicate things.
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elmarko
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« Reply #95 on: 08/03/2009 11:02 AM » |
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Also, damn, hard to get Jenkins' book at a decent price in the UK 
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HarryM
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« Reply #96 on: 08/03/2009 03:22 PM » |
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I'm reading "Flight" autobio by Chris Kraft right now, pretty good.
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Danny Dot
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« Reply #97 on: 08/03/2009 03:28 PM » |
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I think "Houston, You Have a Problem" by Danny Deger is the best. You can even download it for free at lulu.com.
Danny Deger
P.S. Can someone PM contact info for Bryan Burrough, the author of Dragon Fly.
P.P.S. I loved the comment on the method of research on "Failure is Not a Option." I can just picture it in my head.
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elmarko
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« Reply #98 on: 08/03/2009 03:52 PM » |
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I read some of your book years ago before I even posted here/knew who you were on here, Danny. I found it quite interesting, but at the time I thought (and please don't take this the wrong way) that you were sort of a whiner  I remember reading lots of people criticising you for it and questioning some of the stories in it. I'll re-read it and give it a fair crack.
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aldelphi
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« Reply #99 on: 08/05/2009 01:25 AM » |
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What do people think of the Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight series?
Does anyone know when the next book is suppose to be available in the series? The last one came out in November 2008.
The books to date are:
To A Distant Day
In The Shadow Of The Moon
Into That Silent Sea
Homesteading Space
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gwiz
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« Reply #101 on: 08/05/2009 11:41 AM » |
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Blackstar
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« Reply #102 on: 08/05/2009 03:44 PM » |
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The next book I have is Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program by Pat Duggins; was wondering if anyone has read this book and what their thoughts are before I dive in. Fairly new book published in 2007 that I haven't seen mentioned on this thread yet so hopefully someone has heard of it.
Didn't see your question before. The book got reviewed here: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1342/1It's a short review. Here is the relevant paragraph: "For those already familiar with the shuttle program, Final Countdown doesn’t provide any new insights, although hearing the story of the shuttle program from the point of view of some lesser-known astronauts and others is enlightening. The biggest critique of the book, though, is its title: while it suggests the book is an examination of the end of the shuttle program and its effects on NASA and the nation, in reality the book is more of a history of the shuttle program, with only a small portion at the beginning and end devoted to the program’s end and the development of Constellation. (The book reviewed here is the softcover edition of a hardcover that came out in 2007; this version includes an updated introduction that discusses the role of space policy in the 2008 presidential campaign.) There’s not much here on the decision to end the shuttle program and its effects on NASA, industry, and places like Florida’s Space Coast, where thousands of workers could lose their jobs when the shuttle retires. That is fodder for a book yet to be written, but likely one that will be, whether the shuttle retires in 2010 or—maybe—a little later."
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smith5se
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« Reply #103 on: 08/06/2009 04:19 PM » |
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Didn't see your question before. The book got reviewed here:
*snippy*
"The biggest critique of the book, though, is its title: while it suggests the book is an examination of the end of the shuttle program and its effects on NASA and the nation, in reality the book is more of a history of the shuttle program, with only a small portion at the beginning and end devoted to the program’s end and the development of Constellation."
I couldn't agree with this statement more, when I checked out the book from the library I was expecting a discussion on the trials and tribulations of moving on, focusing on the last few missions (maybe from columbia on) and some insight into the decision making and the changes going on on the inside that we may or may not know about. Instead I'm currently on the third chapter after reading about the constellation project (with no mention of anything negative about it, which in 2007 maybe they didn't know better yet) and the new guys (introduction of the new astronauts to the shuttle). As much as I would love to read about shuttle history and facts, as I dont know nearly as much as many of the members here, I would feel more comfortable reading it being written by someone from within NASA and not a reporter (no offense to reporters out there) because as we all know, the public isn't given the whole story or the truth sometimes. Elmarko, I too am looking for the Jenkins book, our library had it but someone stole it (go figure) so I am on the hunt yet again...
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luke strawwalker
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« Reply #104 on: 09/02/2009 04:21 PM » |
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I keep looking at new books to buy and I keep thinking that there's only so many books you can buy on the same subject, otherwise you'll learn nothing new. That's why I've put off buying Carrying The Fire. Does it add anything significant if I already have a few books on Apollo. Same question re Chris Kraft's book if I already have Kranz's MCC book?
Here's my Amazon wish list:
Into the Black: JPL and the American Space Program, 1976-2004: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Into-Black-American-Program-1976-2004/dp/0300110758/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2U2B84OF8KUPG&colid=TBDMIYCJDEV1
Sojourner: An Insider's View of the Mars Pathfinder Mission: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sojourner-Insiders-View-Pathfinder-Mission/dp/0425191990/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1WUFGRU7BDWRX&colid=TBDMIYCJDEV1
Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roving-Mars-Spirit-Opportunity-Exploration/dp/1401308511/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3A7T6RJ4X3RU6&colid=TBDMIYCJDEV1
Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System : the First 100 Missions: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Space-Shuttle-National-Transportation-Missions/dp/0963397451/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1TJ6IM1YNXC9T&colid=TBDMIYCJDEV1
As soon as I find somewhere cheap to buy the Jenkins book, that's a definite purchase. The others are easy/cheap in the UK thankfully.
I've read Kraft's book and am reading Kranz's book at the moment (mostly on weekends with school starting back up again and all that entails). I found Kraft's book very insightful and interesting. He covers some personal ground but the book's focus is on the early goings-on at NACA and the STG leading up to Mercury and the birth of NASA and continues with the reminisces about the challenges of the Mercury program and the history of it all. His rather scathing account of Aurora 7 and Scott Carpenter was pretty interesting, and led me to pick up Scott's book recently at Half Price Books along with a few others I managed to nab. So far I haven't been very impressed with Carpenter's book-- I have it in the bathroom for light reading while occupied with other business, and so far it's been a rather self-aggrandizing account of his parent's and grandparent's problems in his early childhood, rather than any meaningful insight into the space program and history and his place in it. It's a bit like reading "The Great Gatsby" except for it's heavy over-intellectual "we Carpenters are smarter than everyone else" tone which isn't what I expected at all... Glad I only paid $4 for it! Maybe it'll get better, but I'm about 1/3 of the way through it and not impressed so far. Kranz's "Failure Is Not an Option" is pretty good. It's a bit more autobiographical and mostly personal reminisces, but still interesting stuff nonetheless and some pretty good factual tidbits in there that help fill in a few gaps historically speaking, at least for me. It kinda reminds me of "woodheater stories" my great-uncle Red used to tell us sitting around the wood heater in East Texas as a kid on cold days, watching the wind blow outside in the chilly room, while your face recoiled from the heat radiating from the pine-fired stove. Good stories about good (and bad) days long gone, but more reminiscence than accurate history. Kranz's book has some of both. I also recommend "Dragon Fly" and "The Space Shuttle Decision". Very interesting reads. I also read books based on both shuttle disasters, and highly recommend them as well. Later! OL JR
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