No comments about Around the World in 84 Days: The Authorized Biography of Skylab Astronaut Jerry Carr (Apogee Books Space Series).

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1 comments about A Hero Borne (A tribute to John Glenn).

1. It's more than a biography of John Glenn. It's more than a poetry book. I'll keep one for myself, and will get one for my old parents. I'm sure it will encourage them as his last mission did.

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No comments about They Had a Dream: The Story of African American Astronauts.

2 comments about Mission: An American Congressman's Voyage to Space.

1. I've read a lot of books about the space programs of the world and I figured that this book would be just another average book about the space program, especially when one considers that the author is a United States Congressman, but I was pleasantly mistaken. I was expecting something more like John Glenn's autobiography, but it takes a lot just to figure out what party he belongs to.

   Unlike a lot of other astronaut biographies which present a lot of information about pre and post flight life, Bill Nelson spends very little time writing about his past and only a brief section about growing up in the area and that his descendents owned the area around the Kennedy Space Center. He devotes a substantial number of pages to, his selection and training, the Challenger accident and about his hopes and dreams for the future of NASA and international cooperation.

   Bill Nelson's flight was the last space shuttle flight before the Challenger accident. Even though he was only a payload specialist, basically a passenger assigned to run a few experiments, he describes the incredible amount of work that he went through just to prepare for his flight. He describes crew training, physicals, flying in the KC135, which is able to provide about a minute of zero-gravity free fall, simulations and numerous launch scrubs (more than any other shuttle mission to date). He also presents a lot of information about the Challenger crew, one he was almost part of, but due to internal NASA problems he was reassigned to an earlier flight. The book also covers a lot of the behind the scenes actions at the Johnson Space Center and the Kennedy Space Center and he praises many of the unknowns that make the space program works. For example, Jay Greene, Doug Ward, Carolyn Huntoon and George Abbey

   Since he was originally schedule to flight on the Challenger mission, I found his view on the accident extremely interesting and one, which I have never heard before, and one, which doesn't get much press. While he does attribute the Challenger explosion to the failed Solid Rocket Motor joints, he believes that political problems with the NASA administrator were one of the main causes for the Challenger accident. Specifically, James Beggs, the NASA Administrator was under investigation for over charging the government when he was at General Dynamics (he was later cleared) and he had to take a leave of absence. The Deputy Administrator, a non-aerospace engineer, took over and the author feels that his lack of experience, such as not even attending the liftoff, had a major contribution to the explosion such as not canceling the launch. He believes that James Beggs would not have allowed the launch to occur.

   This book may not be for everyone, but I think a lot of people will find this book interesting, especially for the behinds the scene descriptions of the space program and the lack of political rhetoric.

   All proceeds from the book go to charity.




2. This book is a personal account of Florida Representative Bill Nelson's flight on the Shuttle Columbia made only 16 days before the January 28, 1986, loss of Challenger. Nelson, then the chair of the House Space Science and Applications Subcommittee, was a payload specialist on mission STS-61C. This book relates his training regimen and preparation for the flight as well as the first-person account of the mission. At every level, "Mission" has an "I was there" quality about it, and is entertaining and insightful in that capacity. Most interesting, the last part of the book analyzes the "Challenger" accident and examines U.S. space policy. While costly, Nelson concludes, the risks are worth what will come out of the endeavor. He concludes his final chapter with these comments: "If America ever abandoned her space ventures, then we would die as a nation, becoming second-rate in our own eyes, as well as in the eyes of the world....Our prime reason for commitment can be summed up...space is our next frontier" (p. 296). Well...perhaps, but I'm no so sure.

3 comments about Before This Decade is Out.: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program.

1. This book, originally publishing in 1999 as NASA Special Publication, SP-4223, contains fourteen interviews from various people who describe their activities at NASA during the Apollo era. These interviews cover the entire spectrum of people involved in this project, from flight controllers, the top management, two astronauts and even a secretary. More than half the people interviewed for this book have never published anything which recounts their times at NASA, so this book maybe the only source to find such information. This book made me realize that many of the people involved in the Apollo project have passed away and soon the only link to this amazing adventure will be these types of historical records. While I'm not a big fan of books that simply publish interviews, I found this book to be very easy to read and high enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a more behind the scenes look at the moon landing effort or who wants to see a more personal side to NASA.

   The interviews contained in the book are as follows, James Webb (NASA Administrator), Thomas O. Paine (NASA Administrator), Wernher von Braun (Rocket Genius and Marshall Space Flight Center Director), Bob Gilruth (Manned Spaceflight Center Director), George E. Mueller (Associate Administrator of Manned Spaceflight), Gene Kranz (Flight Director), Arthur Rogers (Director of Stennis Space Center), James Guin (Rocket Engine Test Engineer), Glynn Lunney (Flight Director), Geneva Barnes (Secretary in Public Affairs Office), Charlie Duke (Astronaut), Harrison Schmitt (Astronaut), George M. Low (Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office), and Max Faget (Spacecraft Designer/Engineer).

   One added bonus is that the book contains an annotated bibliography of the Apollo Project which lists approximately 35 books, some of which are quite technical and others which are simply astronaut biographies.




2. John has written the first review of this book. It says alot of what I was thinking while reading this myself. Many of these people have passed away or are getting up there in years. (No offense to those still "young" Apollo participants who may read this!) I wanted to hear more from some of them: Bob Gilruth, Max Faget.
   As John had pointed out, the bibliography is an excellent resource for additional books. I have aquired and have read most of them. Many of the people interviewed for this book have never been mentioned. That's what makes this a good read. (The NASA publications are particularly good for technical stuff.)
   A very worthwhile read as it does tell, in limited detail, the parts that these folks played.
   I only hope that many others get an opportunity to contribute their historys as well.



3. This book emerged out of the activities at NASA in 1999 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. As the chief historian of NASA at the time I saw the anniversary looming before us like a freight train bearing down on a deer crossing. I knew it would consume the history function, but I also wanted to use the anniversary to gain support for substantive history projects. This was one of several publications that were completed using resources made available because of the anniversary, and I am quite pleased with the result. The book was originally published through the Government Printing Office as NASA Special Publication-4223 in 1999, and received the Pendleton Prize for best documentary work from the Society for History in the Federal Government. We later negotiated its reprinting in paperback from the University Press of Florida.

   Glen E. Swanson, then the historian at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, included in this work fourteen interviews that sweep the broad expanse of the history of Apollo. It includes some of the most well-known people in the history of spaceflight, such as Wernher von Braun and Moon-walkers Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmidt, as well as some folks who have escaped the spotlight, such as Geneva Barnes who helped the Apollo 11 crew on their worldwide goodwill tour after their mission. It also includes some unsung, but nonetheless significant figures. My favorite example is Robert Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (renamed the Johnson Space Center in 1973) and without question the godfather to the astronauts. All of the interviews published here, by both well-known and lesser-known figures are excellently edited and made available in a very accessible text.

   Glen Swanson had literally hundreds of interviews from which to choose, for NASA has been sponsoring oral histories of its personnel for decades. "Life" magazine writer Robert Sherrod, who had intended to write a book on Apollo, moreover, conducted some of those included. He never completed the book, but he donated all of his research material to the NASA History Office and it is a treasure trove useful to anyone interested in Apollo. His copies of documents and oral histories have a prized place in the NASA collection. And anyone may use them at any time. In addition, the Johnson Space Center has sponsored an oral history program for many years and has a wealth of materials from which Swanson drew the best. Other collections of oral histories also reside at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, where it went when I left NASA in 2002. These collections made it possible for this book to be published. There is also grist for similar oral history treatments of other NASA programs contained in these rich collections. For anyone who might have an interest in the NASA oral history program I wrote the following article on the subject that you may want to review, "`We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming': NASA, Oral History, and the Contemporary Past," Oral History Review 30 (Summer/Fall 2003): 111-28.

   Swanson provided a biographical sketch before each interview included in this book, with details about its origins, dates, interviewers, and where one might consult the original document. I tried to provide some historical context on the Apollo program in an introduction. We then compiled an annotated bibliography on the program to aid in further reading. Always, we sought to bring to life the history of what was arguably humanity's great voyage of discovery.

   I believe Swanson succeeded admirably in his task. I also believe that anyone interested in the history of spaceflight or in oral history as a methodology will find this an engaging and helpful book.

2 comments about WE HAVE CAPTURE PB.

1. Ask any American to name ten pioneering U.S. astronauts and it's quite unlikely they would include the name of Tom Stafford. Yet here is a man who was chosen in NASA's second group of astronauts, who flew two incredible Gemini missions, operated a lunar module to within a few miles of the lunar surface, and became a crew member on the historic ASTP mission, in which Soviet and American spacefarers shook hands in space. And that is just his spaceflight career. There are many layers to General Tom Stafford, and this book explores them all. I will also add that this was a greatly-anticipated book in the space community; co-author Michael Cassutt had earlier hunkered down with Deke Slayton and written a truly superb book Deke!: An Autobiography about the man, his life and career. Undoubtedly a winner, and an intriguing book about a man whose influence is still being felt at NASA and the upper echelon of spaceflight administration; so highly thought of that he was part of the Columbia accident investigation and review board after the loss of that shuttle in 2003.
   
   This is a seriously good book about a true spaceflight pioneer, and a man who, while he might slip under the radar of most Americans, is an absolute legend of flight beyond our planet. Both authors are to be congratulated on creating this stirring and highly-recommended book.



2. Tom Stafford is not your average ex-astronaut. He was a powerful influence in the astronaut office when he was with NASA, and his post-NASA career has been even more influential, including his behind-the-scenes steering of international space cooperation. He was even in charge of Area 51 for a while - the guy's had an intriguing career. Read this book to get a glimpse into some of the big decision-making behind the headlines.