No comments about An Astronaut's Wife--Her Story: From Sadness to Joy (Wife of Apollow 16 Astronaut and Moonwalker).

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.

No comments about Johann Gottlieb Fichte\'s sämtliche Werke: Band III. Abteilung 2. A. Zur Rechts - und Sittenlehre. Band 1.

No comments about The Way of the Explorer: An Apollo Astronant's Journey Through the Material and Mystical Worlds (Audio Editions).

No comments about Roberta Bondar: The Exceptional Achievements of Canada's First Woman Astronaut (Amazing Stories).

No comments about Glenn the Astronaut Who Would Be President.

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.

No comments about Beyond the Earth (Sky's the limit).

No comments about Story Musgrave: a poet in space.(Hubble Space Telescope repairs): An article from: Child Life.

No comments about Moralische Briefe zur Bildung des Herzens: Teil 1.