Synopses & Reviews
Rewind to the 1950s and ponder: was Americaand#8217;s first satellite really built by a college student? How did a small band of underappreciated Russian engineers get pictures of the moonand#8217;s far sideand#8212;using stolen American film? As the 1960s progressed, consider: how the heck did people learn to steer a spacecraft using nothing but gravity? And just how were humans able to goose a spaceship through a thirty-year journey to the literal edge of our solar system?and#160;Ambassadors from Earth relates the story of the first unmanned space probes and planetary explorersand#8212;from the Sputnik and Explorer satellites launched in the late 1950s to the thrilling interstellar Voyager missions of the '70sand#8212;that yielded some of the most celebrated successes and spectacular failures of the space age. Keep in mind that our first mad scrambles to reach orbit, the moon, and the planets were littered with enough histrionics and cliffhanging turmoil to rival the most far-out sci-fi film. Utilizing original interviews with key players, bolstered by never-before-seen photographs, journal excerpts, and primary source documents, Jay Gallentine delivers a quirky and unforgettable look at the lives and legacy of the Americans and Soviets who conceived, built, and guided those unmanned missions to the planets and beyond. Of special note is his in-depth interview with James Van Allen, the discoverer of the rings of planetary radiation that now bear his name.and#160;Ambassadors from Earth is an engaging bumper-car ride through a fog of head-banging uncertainty, bleeding-edge technology, personality clashes, organizational frustrations, brutal schedules, and the occasional bright spot. Confessed one participant, and#8220;We were making it up as we went along.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Savvy consumers of space history have come to expect high quality in the and#8216;Outward Odysseyand#8212;A People's History of Spaceflightand#8217; series edited by Colin Burgess. This fourth volume definitely does not disappoint.and#8221;and#8212;Rick W. Sturdevant, Air Power History
Review
and#8220;A well-told saga of Skylab from start to fiery fall.and#8221;and#8212;Coalition for Space Exploration
Review
and#8220;Published here for the first time, [Alan] Beanand#8217;s diary, added to voice transcripts of space walks, produces the you-are-there immediacy that buffs crave.and#8221;and#8212;Gilbert Taylor,
BooklistReview
"A worthy account of an important but largely forgotten program. . . . For those who would like to learn more about the achievement, Homesteading Space offers valuable personal recollections from those who were there."and#8212;Roger Launius, Air and Space
Review
"Homesteading Space is not just about the scientific knowledge that was obtained in orbitand#8212;this is the story of the astronauts who conducted the experiments, who lived in space for weeks or months at a time, and how they coped."and#8212;Andrew J. Liptak, Worlds in a Grain of Sand blog
Review
"The success of our nation's first space station did not come easily. The challenges were met with vision, courage, and competence. Those who personified these traits forcefully and honestly tell their stories here unfiltered by writers or press. The result is both historically significant and a great read."and#8212;Ed Gibson, Skylab III science pilot and author
Review
"Many space buffs, especially young ones, should find this a satisfying narrative."and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Review
"Ambassadors is written in an accessible and engaging style, introducing readers to behind-the-scenes players most of us have never heard of."and#8212;Russell Lewis, NPR
Review
"[Ambassadors from Earth] offers an accessible account of the U.S. and Soviet planetary missions of the Space Race era, as well as the more widespread efforts of more recent times."and#8212;Roger Launius, Air and Space Magazine
Review
"Utilising original interviews with key players, bolstered by never-before-seen photographs, journal excerpts, and primary source documents, Gallentine delivers a quirky and unforgettable look at the lives and legacy of the Americans and Soviets who conceived, built, and guided those unmanned missions to the planets and beyond."and#8212;Philip Corneille, Spaceflight
Review
"This book provides a wonderful way of renewing interest in the pioneering contributions of the robotic space programs pursued by the United States and the Soviet Union."and#8212;De Witt Douglas Kilgore, Quest
Review
andquot;An intriguing and essential read on the history of unmanned space programs and especially the tug-of-war between the United States and the Soviet Union for space supremacy in the late 1950s and the decade of the 1960s.andquot;andmdash;Dale A. Stirling, Journal for the History of Discoveries
Synopsis
As the United States and the Soviet Union went from exploring space to living in it, a space station was conceived as the logical successor to the Apollo moon program. But between conception and execution stood the vastness of space itself, to say nothing of the monumental technological challenges.
Homesteading Space, by two of Skylaband#8217;s own astronauts and a NASA journalist, tells the dramatic story of Americaand#8217;s first space station from beginning to fiery end.
Homesteading Space is much more than a story of technological and scientific success; it is also an absorbing, sometimes humorous, often inspiring account of the determined, hardworking individuals who shepherded the program through a near-disastrous launch, a heroic rescue, an exhausting study of Comet Kohoutek, and the lab's ultimate descent into the Indian Ocean. Featuring the unpublished in-flight diary of astronaut Alan Bean, the book is replete with the personal recollections and experiences of the Skylab crew and those who worked with them in training, during the mission, and in bringing them safely home.
Synopsis
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.and#160;These pages chronicle a varied and riveting cavalcade of human stories, including a look at Yuri Gagarinand#8217;s harrowing childhood in war-ravaged Russia and Alan Shepardand#8217;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 Leonovand#8217;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.and#160;
About the Author
Francis French is the director of education at the San Diego Air and Space Museum and the coauthor with Colin Burgess of In the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965and#8211;1969 (Nebraska 2007).and#160;Colin Burgess is a former flight service director with Qantas Airlines and the author of many books on spaceflight, including Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon, available in a Bison Books edition.and#160;A NASAand#160;public affairs officer from 1958 to 1969, Paul Haney was known widely as NASAand#8217;s and#8220;voice of mission control.and#8221;