That is sad. I did note the TOC posted a few posts back was rather expansive. One of the main dangers for a writer, wanting to stuff in too much material discovered during research.
Matt JohnsonComing in November 2022!Just in time for Christmas!Absolute final stages of getting ready for AMAZON release.My Thanks to everyone who is patiently waiting!Matthew Johnson
N1 Book Project - Issue #18Matt JohnsonNI 2nd Edition Conundrum 10-11-2022As I had mentioned earlier, we were blessed with a fountain of information from the access to the RKK Encyclopedia, Pavell Subin and then the surprise addition of Charles P. Vick. The book was complete at the end of May 2022, but then we made fruitful contact with Charles Vick. I have completed the Charles Vick addendum.With all of this invaluable data, the book grew from 500 to 600 and then 700 pages. All of this new data represents one-hit- wonders and, I believe, will be lost to us for further access for at least two generations now that Russia has transformed into its new state. (In other words, the idea of editing out some of this information is abhorrent to me.)After working the numbers with AMAZON KND, my dear friends, as astute N1 followers, I must ask you if you would rather have a 700 page book that costs $99, or two 350 page volumes that would cost about $50 each? If I break the book into Vol 1 and Vol 2, they will both be out at the same time. The only reason for the split into volumes would be to get a lower purchase cost out there. I am personally leaning toward the $99 tome. The book will be on glossy color paper, and is set for 8 x10, due to page count.I look forward to your input.Matt Johnson
Matt Johnson2nd Edition is now available on AMAZON (US)!The desire for a hardcover edition forced the split into two parts on both the paperback and hardcover editions. This has been mentioned my those who want a good spine! So this should help. Thank you one and all for your interest and support. It has been a wild 32 months! The HC Part 2 ran into a slight glitch yesterday, so it may take another 24hrs to show up completely.Matt Johnson
The layout of the TOC is... chaotic.
I just had an email with a review of the 2nd edition of the N1 book.As bad as I had feared.
Sadly, your concerns about the project's direction were wholly justified. The books can only be described as a fiasco. The organization is pure chaos, the text (such as it is) is often unclear to the point of incoherence, there is no chronological logic, features and variants of the rocket and of other rockets/projects are barely explained.. some content even has no apparent connection to Soviet space program.To top it off, the formatting is dreadfully bad, with text overlapping other text, frequent erratic changes in font size, and even text that cuts off mid-sentence. There is no evidence that it was ever seriously proofread. The on-demand print quality is adequate, but only just.I'm certainly glad I bought the first edition when it first came out. Most if seems to hold up, even if it could now be supplemented.
The new expanded 2nd Edition of N1-For the Moon and Mars Reference Book is in the absolute final stages of editing and will be available on AMAZON next month. All things being relative, the paperback version will sell for @ $59 and the hard cover for @ $98. The original book was 200 pages long. The new expanded version is 630 pages. The expansion is the result of 26 months of research with the RKK Energia Encyclopedia and Cosmonautica Vol 1. The book covers the Soviet/Russian space effort from 1945 to 2040, with the N1 firmly at the center. All of the original material is in this edition. Once the N1 was buried by Glushko in 1974, its design plans for the future continued. Suddenly plans for Mars, Venus and Jupiter that were to have one N1 heavy booster launch were now only possible with two or three extant boosters. It was an interesting program to study space objects and how they affect the earth. When I was reading an essay on climate change https://studydriver.com/climate-change/ I found out that in parallel with this study, they also had to launch climate probes. Unfortunately, the program does not work and there is no understanding whether it will be continued in the future. But the author of the book hopes that the program for the study of space and climate will be resumed. That possible future is explored in detail. Frankly, with the war in Ukraine, access to this material is now lost for decades to come. This edition represents a treasure trove of information that encapsulates the Cold War of the past and the lost future that was planed in detail, with the N1 as its beating heart. -Matt Johnson Dayton June 2, 2022.
