So yeah, I’m old enough to have lived through all of the incidents in this book, including the launch of Sputnik (though I was a baby for that one). ISo yeah, I’m old enough to have lived through all of the incidents in this book, including the launch of Sputnik (though I was a baby for that one). I remember exactly where I was when the Apollo I fire, the first moon landing, and the Challenger accident happened. Tears, joy, tears. The perils and triumphs of space flight.
I also had a family member in Mission Control and saw his ultimate disillusionment first hand. He finally left NASA, unable to recover from Challenger.
So, there wasn’t a lot in this book that I didn’t already know except for the personal bits that I actually prefer not to know because I believe the families have a right to privacy.
Overall, after being totally blown away by Chernobyl, this book seemed too often like a quickly pasted together batch of researched facts. Often oddly pasted together with semicolons instead of periods. And in random chronological order.
That said, I appreciated the overall effect of starting pre-NASA to show the evolution of the bureaucracy and how it led to both the Challenger and Columbia disasters. It also did a pretty good job of weaving in the long saga of the o-rings.
The book has lots of room for improvement but I have a hard time giving a book that took 4 years of research only 3 stars. Hence 4....more
A book with a bibliography of this size has every right to be more serious and focused and technical. The humor, despite giving me a few laughs, distrA book with a bibliography of this size has every right to be more serious and focused and technical. The humor, despite giving me a few laughs, distracted and detracted. It all ended up as more of a comedic opinion fluff piece rather than the persuasive research-backed book it aspires to be. Too bad, as there was some good information and some good arguments in there.
As to UNCLOS being a model for the space commons, it seems to me to have a major difference: the deep sea is here, and damaging it by spewing far ranging toxins affects the life it contains, so environmental concerns argue for proceeding slowly (even if commercial interests win out in the end). Everywhere else is “just a rock, no indigenous life”. There is nothing short of the threat of war to stop the mad dash for space, and we can only hope that threat is taken seriously.
As much as I love the idea of space travel in spite of its dangers, seeing it dominated by egotistical libertarian billionaires brings me down. ...more
Well this was much more than I expected: in-depth research, direct experience, content of breadth and depth, great organization, and astute perspectivWell this was much more than I expected: in-depth research, direct experience, content of breadth and depth, great organization, and astute perspectives and analysis. Most of the content was totally new to me.
But calling the Arctic “the planet’s frozen forehead” is a clear indication that the author should avoid literary aspirations and stick to her otherwise excellent writing. I just can’t quit giggling over that one and wondering what the corresponding description of the Antarctic would be.
After not liking Death From the Skies much, I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading this book, especially since it covers almost nothing I didn’t aAfter not liking Death From the Skies much, I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading this book, especially since it covers almost nothing I didn’t already know, being geared towards people who know little to no astronomy. What worked for me was the presentation. It really was fun to put things in the context of space tourism. So, that and the fact that I think it makes a very good starting point for newbies raises it to a strong recommend. ...more
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