Amazon.com
Imagine yourself in a decaying space station far away from the atmosphere you never realized you needed so badly, not knowing if the next malfunction would kill you or merely keep you busy. Dr. Jerry M. Linenger experienced just this and describes his harrowing but ennobling five months aboard Mir in Off the Planet, a memoir that evokes the excitement of living every day as a life-threatening adventure. Linenger's very personal writing style draws the reader into the story quickly, breezing through his childhood, Annapolis training, medical school, and selection as an astronaut, then moving quickly to the Mir assignment and its aftermath.
Linenger isn't shy about sharing his opinions. Chapter titles like "Broken Trust" and "An Attempted Coverup" show his feelings about the bizarre relationship between the crew and mission control that may have kept him and his Russian comrades in constant danger. He also heaps praise on his fellow crew members and family for their strength and perseverance throughout the mission--between communication difficulties, the cloud of doubt surrounding the station's systems, and problems like fires and toxic fumes, it's a wonder anyone survived with their sanity intact. The full-color pictures accompanying the text add further insight into life aboard Mir. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
“An engrossing report.”—Booklist “Vividly captures the challenges and privations [Dr. Linenger] endured both before and during his flight.”—Library Journal One of the most gripping space survival stories of the 20th century is now available in paperback. Few episodes in man’s exploration of space can compare to Off the Planet—Dr. Jerry Linenger’s dramatic account of space exploration turned survival mission during his 132 days aboard the decaying and unstable Russian space station Mir. Not since Apollo 13 has an American astronaut faced so many catastrophic malfunctions and life-threatening emergencies in one mission. In his remarkable narrative, Linenger chronicles power outages that left the crew in complete darkness, tumbling out of control; chemical leaks and near collisions that threatened to rupture Mir’s hull; and most terrifying of all—a raging fire that almost destroyed the space station and the lives of its entire crew.
Customer Reviews:
Honest report on life on Mir.......2007-09-30
Unexpectedly, the best book by an astronaut I have ever read. Utterly honest, detailed but not too much, Linenger certainly had "the right stuff". Brilliant, adaptable and a jock, he survived 5 months in an unreliable, uncomfortable Mir space station, and got along very well with two pairs of Russian Cosmonauts, after "learning" Russian in a 5-week crash course. He gives the lowdown on Russian competence in the space program, the political reason for funneling US funds into joint space activity, the excessive control of by Russian ground crew of their cosmonauts. Much is as expected for Russians long living in a repressive, loveless society. True, the poverty of the Russian Republic would make anyone difficult.
Descriptions of ordinary lavatory functions, repair of every imaginable device on the Mir, all of which broke down, and details of docking, undocking, and returning to Earth on a Space Shuttle were more complete than any other I have read. Details of bone density loss, odd effects of Earth gravity and other bits were seen by me for the first time. For me "Off the Planet" was far superior to the classics such as First on the Moon by Armstrong, Collins & Aldrin (too sanitized), "Return to Earth"? by Aldrin (too personally focused, but good), or "Last on the Moon". Only "Apollo 13" compares, but is too sanitized.
My only gripe is that the scientific experiments on which so much time and money were spent do not come in for any description at all, nor any refs. to their publication, or Principal Investigators. Minor gripes were an occasional ambiguous antecedent, pride in contributing to lowering the fat content of Navy diets (on p7; utterly discredited by "The Cholesterol Myths" by Uffe Ravnskow, 2000; "The Modern Nutritional Diseases" by Ottoboni, 2001; "The GReat Cholesterol Con" by Anthony Colpo, 2006; and many others. See http://www.health-heart.org/acceuil.htm). On p9, canned tuna is healthful, but Minute Rice is not for the carb-sensitive among us. Twice, p78 and 189, "hydrolysis" of water is used instead of the correct "electrolysis".
A Fine Astronaut Memoir of the Strife-Filled Shuttle-Mir Program of the Mid-1990s.......2007-03-23
During the middle part of the 1990s NASA and the Russian Space Agency engaged in a set of cooperative missions that resulted in nine Space Shuttle-Mir link ups between 1995 and 1998, including rendezvous, docking, and crew transfers. Jerry Linenger was one of the NASA astronauts sent to fly on Mir, serving there between January 12 and May 15, 1997. This book recounts his experiences training for this mission, including the difficult time he spent at the Cosmonaut training facility at Star City, as well as the mission itself. As he noted about the Russians at Star City, "the goal of helping cosmonauts and astronauts better prepare for a mission was not a shared goal. Making money off the Americans seemed to be the overriding consideration" (p. 43).
A centerpiece of this book is the exceptionally difficult crises on Mir while Linenger was aboard. The first took place on February 24, 1997, when Linenger and his fellow crewmembers fought a fire caused when an oxygen generator in Kvant 1 malfunctioned and ignited. While the fire burned for only about ninety seconds, the crew was exposed to heavy smoke for five to seven minutes and donned masks in response. Linenger had been in the Spektr module working on his computer when he heard Mir's master alarm go off. He shut down his computer--in case the power should go off--put on some protective gear, and rushed as best he could in his weightless condition to the scene of the accident. They all realized that the fire was serious, it could jeopardize the station and their lives, for it blocked access to one of the Soyuz spacecraft needed for return to Earth. Crewmembers extinguished the fire with foam from three fire extinguishers, each containing two liters of a water-based liquid. The fire was not small. Burning in all directions in the microgravity of the space station, the oxygen from the generator fueled hydra-like flames up to three feet long. Periodically, said Linenger, bits of molten metal from the oxygen generator went splattered the bulkhead. Once the fire had been contained they started purging the atmosphere of the smoke, and Linenger, a physician, examined the other members of the crew to ensure they had not been injured. The crew wore masks and goggles until an analysis of the Mir atmosphere ensured that they experienced no serious health risk.
The fire foreshadowed a series of problems aboard Mir during the spring and summer of 1997. Oxygen generators broke down, the automatic docking system malfunctioned, various types of equipment both great and small interrupted the normally monotonous activities, the station's orientation system broke down, the power system failed when the solar arrays lost their position toward the Sun, and leaks in the Kvant-2 cooling system forced numerous repairs and seemingly endless fussing to keep it running. It appeared that the Mir crew, including Linenger, spent the majority of their days repairing the space station. They gingerly positioned Mir in relation to the Sun so that they could control temperature on various parts of the station. The environment on Mir was uncomfortable, and the crew complained about it.
Linenger believed that Russian mission control failed to inform the crew about the status of their station. He expressed nothing but praise for his fellow crewmembers for their strength and perseverance throughout the mission. Even with communication difficulties, a cloud of doubt surrounding the station's systems, difficulties with mission control, and fires and toxic fumes, the crew worked relatively well under very difficult circumstances.
Linenger tells his story with verve and style, and not a little humor, but that that barely hides a cynicism aboiut the whole effort. He concluded, "That the shuttle Mir program is primarily a political rather than a technical endeavor is obvious to anyone working on it or familiar with it" (p. 113). He also notes that the Shuttle/Mir program was essentially a form of foreign aid by the Clinton administration to Russia using NASA's space exploration money rather than funds appropriated through the various foreign aid programs of the United States. He concluded: "the U.S. government perceived that engaging the Russians in a cooperative space undertaking was reason enough to stick by Mir. Or perhaps having a means for our government to funnel millions of dollars in foreign aid to Russia under the guise of `rent money' so the United States can send astronauts to Mir is a valuable political stratagem" (p. 248).
In many ways this is a fascinating book, pulling back the curtain on the Shuttle/Mir cooperative program between the U.S. and Russia in the mid-1990s.
Great story, but too much ego..........2006-07-01
When you see members of the author's family adding book reviews to this website which attack other reviewers (as you can see here on the reviews for this book) you know something is wrong with this book - it doesn't need defending if it could stand on its own. Having read this book, I can see why the family is being overprotective and jumpy. What people have written here is true - this is an amazing story, obscured by the overpowering ego of the writer.
I hope the author had the integrity to call off his family, as they embarrass him here with such posturing. I recommend reading this book and judging it on its own merits - it really is an amazing tale.
Interesting but horribly written.......2005-10-25
If you read past this highly egocentric astronaut's explanations why he's so great it's really interesting. But actually it's a book that tells a story of someone who takes the American living standard as a measure for everything, thus he becomes amusing when he tells you about Russia, like a person who never set foot outside of an American military base.
I can't recommend the book despite a nice stories of fire, etc.
Better than I expected.......2005-07-20
Several years ago, I read Brian Burrough's book DRAGONFLY, which described the travails of the shuttle-Mir program in 1997. Many of the major figures in DRAGONFLY are presented "with warts and all," especially astronaut Jerry Linenger. DRAGONFLY portrays Linenger as petulant and antisocial -- a man more interested in exercising and carrying out his experiments than helping his fellow crewmates battle the daily problems aboard the space station. I found the book highly informative, and I gave it a solid four stars out of five.
Armed with this advance portrayal of Linenger, I was almost itching to dislike him as I read his account of his mission in OFF THE PLANET. The first 60-70 pages did nothing to dispel what I already felt I knew about him. He is intensely self-centered and resume-driven, even boasting about the number of "doctor" titles that should precede his name.
But his approach is more straightforward when he reaches orbit at the start of his mission to Mir. He shares a good deal of hard-won experience about long-duration space travel, a lot of which is a first for any astronaut autobiography. He's especially adept at explaining the medical idiosyncrasies of spaceflight, since he's a practicing MD.
According to Linenger, the mission's problems of disharmony were with the ground controllers in Moscow and not amongst crewmembers. He says mission control was often part of the problem instead of part of the solution. Some of this can be attributed to the terrible air-to-ground communications, which often rendered crew relations with earth untenable. But mission control also maintained a puppetmaster's approach to managing their crews, which was often counterproductive and at times downright adversarial. Still, if Linenger had a better camaraderie with his crewmates than his aloof portrayal in DRAGONFLY, this book doesn't quite reveal it.
The book's strongest passages come from the mission's crises -- a fire on February 23, 1997 that raged for 14 agonizing minutes, and a close near-miss of an unmanned cargo spacecraft during a docking attempt. (After Linenger's stay, another docking attempt resulted in a collision with Mir that forced the crew to close off the Spektr module to save their lives.)
I expected Linenger's tone to be more defensive, as if responding indirectly to Burrough's book. But Linenger is quite matter-of-fact, and doesn't come across as someone looking for excuses or a record to set straight. He's not very gossipy, and he rarely points fingers, and I liked that about him.
At times, I found Linenger's writing a little too breezy, and I would have liked some stretches shared with more detail. His prose also has an annoying tendency to jump around in time. He often follows event descriptions with post-flight commentary that really belongs at the conclusion of the book, so the writing appears somewhat unpolished.
I can recommend the book for what it is -- a very rare autobiographical account of an astronaut's long-duration space mission. Manned spaceflight can learn from Linenger's insight and also from his faults. For now, the book is in a class almost by itself, even though it doesn't set the bar very high. We should see a new standard if we ever see the accounts of Shannon Lucid, Michael Foale, or even the beleaguered Mir commander Vasily Tsibliev. I look forward to their stories.
Book Description
It was a time of bold new technology, historic moments, and international jousting on the final frontier. But it was also a time of human drama, of moments less public but no less dramatic in the lives of those who made the golden age of space flight happen. These are the moments and the lives that Into That Silent Sea captures, a book that tells the intimate stories of the men and women, American and Russian, who made the space race their own and gave the era its compelling character.
These pages chronicle a varied and riveting cavalcade of human stories, including a look at Yuri Gagarin’s harrowing childhood in war-ravaged Russia and Alan Shepard’s firm purchase on the American dream. It also examines the controversial career of cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and the remarkable struggle and ultimate disappointment of her American counterparts. It tries to uncover the truth behind the allegations that shadowed Gus Grissom and Scott Carpenter and then allows the reader to share the heart-stopping suspense of Alexei Leonov’s near-fatal first space walk. Through dozens of interviews and access to Russian and American official documents and family records, the authors bring to life the experiences that shaped the lives of the first astronauts and cosmonauts and forever changed their world and ours.
Customer Reviews:
EXCELLENT BOOK!!!!!.......2007-10-04
As a confirmed space geek, I too have read as many books as I could get my hands on .
This book was a great read from cover to cover!!!
I couldn't put it down. I particularly enjoyed reading about the cosmonauts exploits AFTER their historic flights.
Definitely one to put on your gift list.
Into That Silent Sea.......2007-09-06
For many years now I have made presentations on NASA history as well as all of the human space programs. I have focused mainly on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Into That Silent Sea is clearly one of the most well written and authoritative books on the subject that I have ever read. Through exhaustive research and personal contact with the pioneers of space exploration Francis French and Colin Burgess have compiled a treasure. Full of anecdotes, and including much little known information it gives a fascinating insight into what the early days were like for both our astronauts and for the Soviet cosmonauts. Many others who lived this history contribute their perspective as well. I highly recommend this work to all who are interested in the human experience. The book is easy to read, captivating, and one of the most fascinating books that I have found.
Capt. William (Mike) Lucas
US Airways
Space Historian
One of the best I've read!.......2007-08-31
I've been a space geek ever since I was about 1.5 years old and mom made me watch the moon landing in 1969 - I don't remember it, but I did see it!
I've read just about all of the best books on the space program and I thought I had read everything, and knew all the stories - until I read "Into That Silent Sea". The book wasn't a fast one to read, not because it was overly technical, but I just kept reading stuff that I never knew and would re-read the page/paragraph again and say to myself "I never knew that!"
The chapters on the Russian space program were absolutely fascinating and sometimes frightening, I never knew the early Cosmonauts had so many near disasters on re-entry (I won't more and spoil it with details - read the book!). This was the first book I read that I felt I really learned more of the behind the scenes stories of the Russian side of the space race.
Great chapters on the American side of things, Dee O'hara was kind of an unknown figure in the space race (other than the depiction in the "Right Stuff"), but now she has her much deserved place in history with this book also. Fun to read how the early astronauts picked on her too with the "gotchas"!
I just started reading "In the Shadow of the Moon" on my bus commute to work and back. I enjoy the heavy traffic trips - more time to read!
For a long time Andrew Chaikin and Micheal Collins held the spots with the best space books in my opinion. Move over guys, Francis French and Colin Burgess have to share the spot with you now!
Fresh Takes On Classic Stories.......2007-08-17
Writing this book, really, would not have been an enviable task. Yes, it would be a fun sandbox to play in, and, yes, it would be very cool to get to talk to the people you would have to interview to write the book.
But, it's been done, you know?
The Gemini period perhaps a bit less so, but how many books and movies and documentaries have covered the Mercury and Apollo programs? Were it me, I'd rather tread ground a little more fresh.
But the great thing about Silent Sea is that it is, in fact, fresh.
For the people who are relatively new to these stories, it's a wonderful introduction. To say that it's thorough is putting it lightly. Yes, the Mercury program is covered completely. The book includes everything you need to know. And it's told in a way that's interesting not only to a technical crowd but also to a lay audience, because, ultimately, Silent Sea is the story of the people who lived the history. These people who have become legends, after all, were people. Where did they come from? What were they like as children? How did they get to the point where they were making history? What was the experience like for them? What was it like living with having done something so exceptional? With the aforementioned thoroughness, Silent Sea paints portraits of the individuals behind the history.
Silent Sea is unusual, as well, in that it's not a history of the Mercury program. It's a history of human spaceflight from 1961 through 1965, regardless of where those humans were from. The U.S. and Soviet programs are covered in a combined chronological account, presenting the stories side-by-side as two components of one historical period. As a result, even for someone who is fairly well-versed in the history of NASA spaceflight, Silent Sea is an extremely informative volume, filling in the gaps from the far side of the Iron Curtain.
Even in telling the more familiar stories, however, Silent Sea keeps it fresh. No matter how many times a reader has heard these stories, they haven't been told in quite this way before. Yes, the major events are covered in detail, but they're shown as seen through different eyes, people like Dee O'Hara and Wally Funk. If you know who those people are, you know why you need to read the book. If you dont know who those people are, that is why you need to read the book.
Excellent, excellent book.......2007-08-06
Having been an engineer on Gemini and Apollo, I eagerly devour any books on space history I can find. Unfortunately, far to many of them are marred with an excessive number of technical and/or historical inaccuracies. Silent Sea, I was happy to find is a wonderful exception. This is a fantastically interesting book, and I hated to put it down. As I was too young to work with most of the subject astronauts, it was most interesting to read their stories in such incredible detail. It is written in a very readable style, and I especially enjoyed the first-person accounts by those people who were there, but not among the famous. I learned a lot about the Russian space program, a subject that rarely gets such an in-depth treatment.
It is such a pleasure to read a space book written by people who take the time to get it right.
Book Description
One man, more than any other, created the giant space agency we know today as NASA: James E. Webb. The Man Who Ran the Moon explores a time when Webb and an elite group of charismatic business associates took control of America’s Apollo moon project, sometimes with disturbing results.
In 1967, NASA was rocked by disaster and Apollo was grounded. Webb was savaged in a Congressional investigation. Not just a matter of broken hardware, there were accusations of corruption at the heart of America's space effort. Some of Webb's political allies had been caught up in the biggest scandal ever to hit Washington prior to Watergate. The backwash unfairly tainted NASA's chief.
By the time of the first triumphant lunar landing, Webb had resigned and his name had all but been forgotten. But he’s the man who got us to the moon, and the power base he forged in the 1960s has kept NASA on a solid footing to this day. Washington insiders now acknowledge Webb as one of the greatest leaders in modern American history. No space boss since his time has wielded so much power and such a powerful story.
Customer Reviews:
Behind The Gloss.......2007-03-11
At last its good to find a book which covers the politics behind any large government organisation, and especially one as large as NASA. This book complements the huge number of technology offerings on the early days of spaceflight, and then to the moon. It was interesting to see how NASA went through the various phases of an entrepreneurial company, and almost distructing, before re-inventing itself several times over.
Mr Bizony has made a good effort in trying to distill a large period of time and a number of memorable events into a readable volume without getting too sidetracked in the huge undetaking of man going to the moon.
I have found this a good contrast to the Robert Godwin Apollo Mission Reports.
a black box opened - faszinating insights into the administration of the race to the moon.......2007-01-09
When you hear of the manned space programme or the first lunar landing of Apollo 11 you think of the astronauts who went there and the engineers who built the vehicles in which they went. But even as a space enthusiast I rarely spend a thought about the people in the background who administered the biggest engineering programme ever. Yet as the book reveals there was a lot of important work to do behind the scenes. Fascinating insights into the world of high profile public administration are given in the book that stand up to the excitement of space walks and lunar landings. The book is also excellent in unravelling the complexity of running NASA and the deeper insights into the Apollo fire. All in all a brillant and - surprisingly - entertaining book, not just for the space freak.
"Space Age Management".......2006-11-13
This long overdue biography of Jim Webb fills a needed void in the literature of the Apollo program. Webb, a disarming but astute partisan Democrat from North Carolina ran NASA during the crucial years leading up to the Apollo program. This book not only details his personal life, but the wheeling and dealing that went on behind the scenes in Washington to get to the moon.
Nobody doubts that Webb was brilliant, but Webb was not without flaws. He was totally infatuated with Roosevelt-era New Deal big government, and ran NASA accordingly, sometimes to the detriment of the program. He adopted the mantra of "Space Age Management" and took it to mean a giant, monolithic government run program straight from FDR's playbook. I think the book does a great job explaining Webb's less than savory relationships to politicians and others of questionable ethics in both the Kennedy and (especially) Johnson administrations such as Bobby Baker. It also recalls a less than savory battle with fellow Democrat and political climber, Walter Mondale, that exposes Washington political opportunism at its worst. I rate the book four stars as the book tends to downplay the significance of ethically borderline issues that occurred in Webb's tenure. To the credit of the book, Bizony does correctly point out that Kennedy was not the true champion of space he is revered to be today, but saw space exploration as a politically expedient course to follow, as did Johnson.
On the plus side, the author absolutely nails the deplorable history of NASA since Apollo and presents an accurate and devastating portrait of the Shuttle and International Space Station programs. Mr. Bizony correctly identifies the root cause of the problems in both programs as an unholy alliance of political objectives and unfocused technology. Webb's stature rose significantly in my eyes when I read Bizony's account of the hostility Webb had for Robert McNamara, another big government technocrat, but one without the vision of either Kennedy or Webb. NASA veteran Bob Seamans comes off as a much needed moderating force within the administration, and this book also details the fascinating relationship between Seamans and Webb.
Overall this is a noteworthy book. While it occasionally seems to come off the rails and get sidetracked, Piers Bizony always manages to tie up loose ends, resulting in a detailed and historically important book. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the space program, and further to students of management to learn not only the successes, but failures of the biggest single peacetime logistical puzzle in history.
July 2006 [...] book selection.......2006-07-28
I have decided to stop including subtitles to books, as too many books nowadays seem to include overly long subtitles like this one, "James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo." For goodness sake, folks: read the book, as it chronicles how James Webb ran NASA in the 1960s, for better or worse, by brokering all sorts of backroom, good ole boy deals. Bizony's book is fascinating, as it reveals the realistic side of inspirational programs like our country's space program. I loved the book and commend the author for presenting the facts without shattering the dream. If you have not guessed, I am a space nut who admires the one program that seems to rally the world around America (in a positive way, that is): NASA. To view this and other cool short book recommendations, [...].
The Business and Political Side of Getting Man on the Moon.......2006-07-12
With "The Man Who Ran the Moon: James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo" Piers Bizony has written a wide ranging history about the business side of getting man on the moon. While many books focus on the astronauts and some focus on engineering, this book covers the political side of space flight. There are times when the author sounds as though he is losing his perspective as a historian/biographer and begins to expound on the virtues of the democratic party (Jim Webb was a lifelong Democrat) but after a few quick barbs about how things could be better today if we only learned from our past he rapidly gets back to the subject at hand.
The book does an excellent job of explaining John F. Kennedy and how he got behind the space program. The reader will see how without the soviets the American leadership would have never made space a priority. The "race" with the Russians has been well documented but this book goes deep into the American political system and how our government reacted to the race. The reader will see the give and take in Washington and how Webb spread the money around the country both in ways to gain political favor for the space program and in ways that made the most sense from a management position. Also covered is a fascinating meeting at the White House where Webb and JFK get into an argument over what the main goal of NASA should be and we see Webb not back down to the President of the United States.
The author goes to great lengths to explain the fall of Jim Webb and many pages are devoted to explaining the big political picture of lobbyist Fred B. Black, Jr. and LBJ protégé Robert "Bobby" Baker. While at times the reader may find themselves wondering what any of this has to do with Webb and NASA, all becomes clear in the end and the reader is rewarded with the knowledge and understanding of how something as simple as vending machines can start a series of events that will lead to the fall of a powerful man.
The selection of North American Aviation for construction of many parts of the rocket and capsule are covered as well as the fallout from the Apollo 1 fire. The Walter "Fritz" Mondale vs. Webb fight in the congressional investigations into the Apollo 1 fire are also well covered.
Overall this is an excellent book and is one that all space flight enthusiasts will want to add to their collection. I highly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
- Newest Resource for Space Autograph Collectors
- The Facts are Accurate
- Most of this information is available for free elsewhere
- A Fine Reference Work
- Informative Book!
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Who's Who of NASA Astronauts
Lee A. Ellis
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Book Description
Who's Who of NASA Astronauts presents the biographical information of all 367 NASA astronauts along with their mission facts. From the original Mercury 7 selected in 1959 to the present day Space Shuttle astronauts working on the International Space Station, this book contains the personal history, education, honors received, affiliated organizations and the NASA experience of each astronaut.
Customer Reviews:
Newest Resource for Space Autograph Collectors.......2002-05-27
FROM: Autograph Collector Magazine-June 2002 edition
Collectors of space autographs looking for complete information on NASA astronauts and how to contact them will find Lee Ellis' new book "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts" an excellent resource. The book contains extensive biographies, space flight data and other facts for all 367 NASA astronauts from the first manned space flight of Alan Shepard to current NASA candidates. Of particular interest to collectors is a complete section of astronaut addresses. Arranged for easy reference, each biography covers personal data, education, organizations, special honors and full NASA experience.
The Facts are Accurate.......2002-01-23
I'm the coach for a local high school science bowl team. We have used the book, "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts" as the authority on
all of our questions about NASA astronauts. We use this book to create questions for the students and use this book to officiate
any dispute on a question about NASA astronauts. "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts" is a valuable resource for anyone wanting
accurate information on NASA astronauts. Also, I have used other
books about NASA astronauts and "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts"
is the least expensive.
Most of this information is available for free elsewhere.......2001-12-12
For me, this is a difficult book to review, because as one reviewer has already pointed out, most of the information presented in this book is available at several NASA websites for free. The NASA sites also include nice photographs, links to other NASA information and are continuously updated. In some cases, the information presented in the book is taken word for word from the NASA sites.
On the flip side of things, a book like this is readily available, portable and good for those you do not have computer access. Futhermore, the information presented on the former astronauts, especially those from the Apollo era, is not always available at the NASA sites.
In general, I'd say that if you are interested in owning and reading a book that contains good biographical summaries on all the NASA astronauts, this book is for you. If you just want a book for a quick reference now and then go to the NASA sites.
A Fine Reference Work.......2001-11-18
Who's Who of NASA Astronauts is a valuable resource for anyone wanting concise and comprehensive information on the biographies of the NASA Astronauts. This book give personal data, outlines the events surrounding the NASA astronauts and gives the accounts of their space flights. People who would enjoy this book are space flight enthusiasts, students wanting background information on the qualifications, selection and application process to become an astronaut, reference librarians for their general reference section, speaker bureaus, autograph collectors who want to write to astronauts, schools and alumni of astronauts and business associates of astronauts. I have known Lee Ellis, the author of "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts" for many years. Over that time, he has demonstrated high ethical standards. The sources Mr. Ellis used in the publication of his book include personal interviews with NASA astronauts, information from the NASA history center in Washington, DC, the NASA website and various other news reporting agencies. I would like to reply to a comment given by a previous review and say that not all reviewers are aware of the principles and guidelines that must be followed in the publication of a book. I want to assure everyone that Mr. Ellis has complied with all the NASA requirements and conditions in the preparation of his book. I have talked to people of all walks of life who have read "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts." All of them have mentioned how much they have enjoyed the book and are looking forward to Mr. Ellis' next publication.
Informative Book!.......2001-11-15
I've enjoyed reading about astronauts and their explorations over the years. I'm especially interested in the moon-walkers and this book does a fine job of detailing the astronauts lives and their NASA experiences. The author has done a good job of organizing the astronaut biographies which makes finding information much easier.
Book Description
Mounting pressure in the early 1960s from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study ways of expanding the role of astronauts to conduct science on future space missions led to NASA’s conclusion that flying scientifically trained crewmembers would generate greater returns from each mission. NASA and industry studies continued investigating possibilities that could lead to the eventual creation of the first space stations using surplus Apollo hardware, through the Apollo Applications Programme (AAP). There was also a growing interest within the military to create their own manned space station programme, conducting on-orbit experiments and research with strategic advantages for national security. In October 1964 the Soviets launched Voskhod 1 whose 3-man crew were identified as the first ‘scientific passengers’ in space. A few days later NASA and the NAS had completed joint studies into the possibility of using scientists in the manned space programme, and invited scientists to apply for astronaut training. In selecting the first group of scientist-astronauts, NASA had one firm requirement; any person accepted into the programme would have to qualify as a military jet pilot. While the second group of scientists were completing their academic, survival and flight training programme, the remaining members of the first scientist-astronaut group were involved in supporting the developing Apollo Applications programme and the Apollo lunar programme.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent account of scientist-astronauts in 1960/70s NASA.......2006-11-22
This is an excellent piece of research from Colin Burgess and David Shayler, building on their reputations for producing high quality works about the space program. This book is a must for anyone wishing to learn about the workings of 1960s and 1970s NASA other than from the viewpoint of the pilot astronauts.
People familiar with other astronaut biographies will immediately recognise some of the nuances and stories repeated throughout the book, but there is also a wealth of new information not previously published. One refreshing aspect is comments from different scientist-astronauts on the same topic. Being an Australian, I have always been interested in the role played by Philip Chapman (born in Melbourne). The book contains an interesting account by Chapman of his disagreement with the "astro-politics" of Deke Slayton and the dismissive appropach of science in general and the scientist-astronauts in particular. This is countered with an opposing view by Bill Thornton, which makes for very interesting reading. Another example is differing views people held about Brian O'Leary's suitability to be an astronaut prior to his resignation.
There is a fascinating insight into Duane Graveline's selection and quick fall from grace, under pressure from NASA to resign because of an impending divorce, which up until now had been treated almost as a grubby footnote in other works about 1960s NASA. Graveline was gone so fast that he barely rated a mention other than in respect of the circumstances leading to his departure.
Other interesting aspects are brief bio details (where it has been possible to obtain them) about the unsuccessful applicants for the 1965 and 1967 astronaut groups, and what became of them in later careers.
The book also gives a good account of the role of the scientist-astronauts in the early AAP plans, and in this respect the book is a good adjunct to Shayler's "Apollo: The Lost and Forgotten Missions", which deals more extensively with the 1960s hopes and plans for AAP after the lunar program.
The book distinguishes the 17 astronauts officially selected in 1965 and 1967 as "scientist-astronauts" from the Mission Specialist intakes for the Shuttle program from 1978 onward, so the book is a good snapshot of the 1960s and 70s. Thankfully, the book deals with the role that the 1965 and 1967 scientist-astronauts took in the Shuttle program, after some waited up to 18 years for a mission.
This book is a "must" for anyone who wants to learn more about the scientist-astronauts of the 1960s, and everyone (like me) who has absorbed all the other astronaut biographies. I eagerly awaited the release of this book; publication delays aside, the wait was worth it. This book comes very highly recommended.
Product Description
This unique electronic book on CD-ROM has an amazing collection of the transcripts of interviews obtained over the last decade by the NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project (JSC OHP). The project, established in 1996, is designed to capture history from the individuals now more than 500 - who first provided the country and the world with an avenue to space and the moon. Participants include managers, engineers, technicians, doctors, astronauts, and other employees of NASA and aerospace contractors who served in key roles during the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Shuttle programs. These oral histories ensure that the words of these pioneers live on to tell future generations about the excitement and lessons of space exploration. The oral histories are the transcripts from audio-recorded, personal interviews with many who pioneered outer space and the Moon, and with those who continue the excitement of space exploration. Just some of the famous individuals included in the collection: Arnold Aldrich, Joe Allen, Bill Anders, Neil Armstrong, Alan Bean, Joe Kerwin, Gene Kranz, Guy Bluford, Charles Bolden, Frank Borman, Vance Brand, Scott Carpenter, Aaron Cohen, Edgar Cortright, Bob Crippen, Walt Cunningham, Charles Duke, Jack Lousma, Glynn Lunney, T.K. Mattingly, James McDivitt, Ed Mitchell, George Mueller, Dale Myers, Pinky Nelson, Bill Pogue, Max Faget, Gordon Fullerton, Ed Gibson, Jay Greene, Fred Haise, Henry Hartsfield, Fred Hauck, Steve Hawley, Sally Ride, Jerry Ross, Wally Schirra, Jack Schmitt, Rusty Schweickart, Brewster Shaw, Alan Shpard, Loren Shriver, Tom Stafford, Dick Truly, Paul Weitz, Guenter Wendt, Tommy Holloway, Jay Honeycutt, Al Worden, John Yardley, Brent Jett, Wendy Lawrence, Shannon Lucid, Bill Readdy, Jim Wetherbee, Dave Wolf, James Beggs, Wes Huntress, J.R. Thompson, and many more.
Average customer rating:
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NASA TT
G. A Skuridin
Manufacturer: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Astronauts
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000737M0Q |
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