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Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon
Mike Gray
Paperback
Penguin Books Australia Ltd
June, 1994
Used price*: £7.83
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Review: An inside look at the building of the Apollo moonship. (4/5)
The book centers on Harrison (Stormy) Storms who was a lead engineer at the aviation company North American. Responsible for both the X-15 and the Valkyrie Mach 3 bomber Storms wanted North American to be an active contractor in NASA's moon program.
Although billed as an outsider in the contract race Storm's North American team managed to beat the main competitors, McDonnell Douglas and Martin Marietta. North American were ultimately responsible for both the second stage of the Saturn V moon rocket and the Apollo Command and Service module. (Boeing built the first stage, McDonnel Douglas the third stage and Grumman the Lunar Module).
Ground breaking technology (for the time) was used in the project given that no one had built such large structures to such precise tolerances and reliability. After reading the account of building the heat shield (a honey comb shell filled with ablative resin where each cell had to be X-ray inspected) you wonder how they did the job on time.
North American took the blame for the Apollo 1 fire, although they had repeatedly told NASA of the dangers of a pure oxygen cabin test at atmosperic pressure. Storms became the scapegoat and left North American before the first successful landing.
Readers of this book who have also read Voyage (by Stephen Baxter) will note that Mr Baxter based the character of the designer of his Mars lander on Harrison Storms.
Harrison Storms is also a lead character in HBOs TV series "From the earth to the Moon". Review: Exciting alternative view of recieved history (5/5)
This is a stupendous read.The accuracy of the reported speech after the length of time that has passed is open to debate but the thrust of the narrative -- that there was wrong on both sides in the control of the building of the Apollo spacecraft -- strikes the reader as probably being more balanced than the received wisdom that all the fault was down to North American. And the book is tremendously good at explaining the complexity of the engineering task involved. Buy it if you want an alternative view of the heroics involved in the Apollo programme from a different angle than that of the astronauts. Its also very interesting to compare and contrast it against "The Challenger Launch Decision" by Diane Vaughan |
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The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity
David Darling
Hardcover
John Wiley & Sons
13 December, 2002
Amazon price*: £19.76 (list price £29.95)
Used price*: £12.30
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From the Flightdeck: Apollo 11 Moon Landing v. 4
David Shayler
Paperback
Ian Allan Ltd
July, 1989
Used price*: £2.75
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Light This Candle: The Life and Times of Alan Shepard, America's First Spaceman
Neal Thompson
Hardcover
Crown Publications
March, 2004
Used price*: £2.70
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Review: Gives us the man rather than the missions... (4/5)
The book does live up to half of its title for sure. It really gives a great appreciation of Alan Shepard the man warts and all. I should imagine that his peers would probably have agreed with a lot of what is written, as most of what is described has been suggested in other books of the genre. I do have to agree with another review on this book though, it certainley seems to be lacking in details when it comes to what he was most famous for, his two space flights. As a matter of fact his trip to the moon is really a little bit too light on details, and it appears that the author really wanted to get his personality across rather than give much away about either of his space flights. It is nicely written and well paced, although I did find myself wondering just exactly when we were going to get to the space flight bit. As previously mentioned it does give us a good idea of what type of personality the man had, but I feel that sometimes it doesnt comment upon the context that these particular character traits came to the forefront. It gives us the context in generous proportions, but it would have been nice to be reminded that some of these traits were pretty much neccersary for the man to become who he became. Without this commentary, it could possibly be too easy to attach negativity to the same. Having said that, the ending does really round things out, and ammends are made. I enjoyed the book very much and would certainley recommend it. Review: Al Shepherd a true hero. (4/5)
I have always been a space cadet and, when this book was given to me as a present I jumped in feet first to find out more about the man who heralded America's entry into manned spaceflight. The book itself is remarkably absorbing and easy to read, with a very " hard to put down feel to it". It tells the story of Al Shepherd from his formative years in East Derry, to joining the U.S Navy, eventually ending up at Pax River as a test pilot, and then when the call came to join Nasa he was first in queue. This is where the book has a shortcoming,I found the author was lacking slightly in some of the technical aspects of the Freedom 7 sub-orbital flight and Shepherds later Apollo 14 flight, and whilst this does not really detract from the book I feel he could have researched some of the aspects a lot more deeply and
accuratley. That said when I closed the book I was rather sad that this remarkable mans story was over. A must read for anyone with an interest in the heroes of spaceflight. |
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Energiya-Buran: The Soviet Space Shuttle (Springer-Praxis Books)
Bart Hendrickx, Bert Vis
Paperback
Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
July, 2007
Used price*: £34.03
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Marswalk One: First Steps on a New Planet (Springer-Praxis Books)
David Shayler, Andy Salmon, Michael Shayler
Paperback
Springer-Verlag London Ltd
April, 2004
Amazon price*: £18.00 (list price £18.95)
Used price*: £3.35
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Apollo 13: The Real Mission (Great Speeches): The Real Mission (Great Speeches)
Audio CD
Soundworks,U.S.
01 January, 1997
Amazon price*: £9.22 (list price £9.22)
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Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System (Apogee Books Space)
Robert Godwin
Paperback
Collector's Guide Publishing
01 May, 2003
Amazon price*: £15.80 (list price £23.95)
Used price*: £13.92
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Review: Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System. (1/5)
If you're looking for an concise in depth study of the Dyna Soar project this is not it! This book is without doubt the worst text book of it's kind it's ever been my misfportune to try to wade through, consisting as it does of a compilation, (for compilation read thrown together), of memos, diagrams, and photographs associated with the project. It is impossible to gain a clear ovcerview of the project and the technology it would have employed, because the book has no clear narrative structure. DON'T BUY THIS BOOK Review: Dyna-Soar: Hypersonic Strategic Weapons System (1/5)
If you're looking for a good clear in depth explanation of the Dyna Soar project this book is definitely not it! It is without doubt the worst text book of this type that I think I have ever read,(or rather tried to read!). It is merely a compilation (for compilation read thrown together) of old documentation, (memos, diagrams, photographs) which has no clear narrative structure, and gives the reader no clear description of the final project or how the individual elements of the project came together. DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!! |
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Entering Space: Creating a Space-faring Civilization
Robert Zubrin
Hardcover
Jeremy P Tarcher
30 June, 2000
Used price*: £2.52
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Review: Probably the best book on space out there (5/5)
Compelling, inspirational, imaginative, realistic - it's hard to praise this book enough.
For those of us that like to look beyond the everyday chores of life, and strive for something more, this book shows what could be achieved by us and our descendants. Nothing less than claiming the Galaxy!
The author steers away from the more fanciful unscientific notions of other writers in this regard, but without ever losing his grip on the reader's sense of wonder.
Step-by-step he shows us how we can begin our journey into space, starting with technology that we've had for over 30 years.
The book is totally convincing, and by the end you wonder what on Earth we're still doing here.
I recommend this book to anyone who has any imagination! Review: Excellent book; well written, informative, and inspirational (5/5)
After "A Case for Mars", I was eager to read more of Zubrin's books on Space Exploration. I was not disappointed.
"Entering Space" starts out by explaining what the author sees as the great shortcomings of the present space exploration strategy persued by national governments, and how all the 'cost-saving' measures have only reduced program effectiveness, but not actual cost. He pleads the case for focussed efforts on the part of governments and the private sector to open up space as the next frontier - for the good of humanity, to not only forestall extinction in case of a meteor impact, but also to rekindle the 'frontier shock' situation which has in the past always catalysed an era of progress, both social and technological. And all with present-say technology.
Zubrin goes on to describe the future course of humanity once it has established itself as a spacefaring civilisation: The Moon, Mars, the outer planets... inspirational stuff indeed. And explained in plausible, understandable terms.
Finally, the last chapters are devoted to interstellar travel, and what may lie beyond. Fusion drive, antimatter engines, magsails - all technology which is possible with our present understanding of physics, and which would make humanity's colonisation of nearby stars possible. I highly recommend this book to anyone who looks up at a Saturn V rocket and thinks "we flew to the Moon forty years ago... why aren't we doing it today?". Inspirational stuff, indeed. Review: An excellent treatise on why we must enter space. (4/5)
Dr. Robert Zubrin has a talent that is rare amongst rocket scientists: the ability to communicate effectively. Dr. Zubrin shows us that entering space would not merely represent the realized dream of a few rocket scientists and science fiction authors (though undoubtedly that would be the case), but also that it is a natural action made neccessary by a logical examination of the facts. Especially enlightening are his first-hand descriptions of America's aerospace industry and NASA. He provides numerous examples of how we might accomplish the much needed task of entering space and why it is important that we do so. Also included is important information regarding The Mars Society and how the reader can become involved in helping humanity to become a Type II (interplanetary) Civilization. |
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Apollo: The Definitive Sourcebook (Springer-Praxis Books)
Richard W. Orloff, David M. Harland
Paperback
Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
February, 2006
Amazon price*: £30.49 (list price £30.50)
Used price*: £21.00
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