List your space books

Kemara · Post by **Kemara** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 7:30 am

Here's an idea: Everyone list your favorite space-related books, fictional or technical and tell why you like 'em. I'm always looking for new reading material!

Apollo 13- I read Lovell's book before I saw the movie. Tons of juicy technobabble to puzzle over.

Entering Space-Wonderful astronaut account of a shuttle mission. This was one of the first space books I got when I was a kid. The photos make the book.

History of NASA- I need to study this more so I can hold my own in LB206's AOL space chats. Covers the history of NASA from the beginning to the early years of the shuttle.

OK gang. Your turn.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 8:32 am

Hmm books aree you sure you want me to get staryted on my list it has quite a few.

Moon Shot- As listed in the movie topic it was written by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton its an excellant read and gives the perspective of two astronauts who saw it all.

Diary of a Cosmonaut 211 Days in space- Its hard to find but its a good read. It was written by a cosmonaut who spent 211 days on the Russian Salyut 7 in the early 80s. Lets you see how diffrent the russian program is.

Dragonfly- Its verry critical of the Mir space station but the info given in it is all based on the stories of the asdtronauts who lived aboard Mir.

Lost Moon- This is the book Jim Lovell wrote and Apollo 13 is based on. The book is even better than the movie.

Flight- This is Chris Krafts book he can be a little stuck on himself at times and crittical of alot of people but the book has some good info and a its a flight directors perspective on the early space program.

Men From Earth- Buzz aldrins book it gives info on the space race from both the American and Russian Side. He researched the russian program alot when he travelled to Russia and he lived the american side.

The Right Stuff- Its a big book and its not entirely historicly acurate but its a good read. And its better than the movie.

Jerry Lineangers book- i dont remember its title but it talks about his time on Mir as well as his time training in Russia. It really shows how badly the Russians treated the american astronauts training there but its a good read.

Well those are all the ones i can think of right now. I'll try to think of more later.

Post by **Vincent** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 9:21 am

"This New Ocean" by William Burrows is a must read, I feel, for any space enthusiast...In this 900 page monster, Burrows chronicles the entire span of humankind's first space age, from ancient China all the way to the development of the ISS...it's a long read, but worth it.

orion8 · Post by **orion8** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 2:30 pm

"Lost Moon" The name of the book Apollo 13 before the movie came out... A great book I never get tired of reading.

"Rocket Boys" The memoirs of Homer Hickam, the book October Sky was based upon.

I don't read much fiction at all, in fact most(almost all) of my reading is technical. Though its not exactly "Space related", my favorite book is Rocket Propulsion Elements by George P. Sutton. This is the bible of rocket engineers and I was so proud when I got my first copy (a sixth edition from Amazon for only $125!) I stiil have that book and though I've advanced alot... it still reminds me how far I've come.

Another great technical book is Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engines by Dieter Huzel and David Huang.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Sat Jul 06, 2002 7:42 pm

John Glenn's memoir is also verry good.

LaRsOnAtRiXkIx · Post by **LaRsOnAtRiXkIx** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 7:09 pm

my favorite one is the right stuff. no doubt.
i also really like this huge book i have..from the life series..about space. its kinda old but has amazing pictures

LaRsOnAtRiXkIx · Post by **LaRsOnAtRiXkIx** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 7:12 pm

another book that i really like is have space suit--will travel
by robert heinlein...its an OLD book (1958) but it was one of the first "real" (not babysitters club..goosebumps..etc) books that i read. its extremely fictious but i love it anyway. my binding is almost falling apart tho..i have a really old copy and ive fallen asleep reading it soo many times..mm good book.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 10:18 pm

I've never read that one i'll have to check it out. Another one Kemara recomended to me but i havent read is A Smile as Big as the Moon. From what shes told me its a book about a group of mentally handicapped kids and their fight to beable to go to space camp. Its a true story written by their teacher i believe. Kemara says its really good maybe se can tell us more.

Post by **Vincent** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 10:29 pm

I just read that book yesterday...It was very good...certainly worth a read...A full-blown review will most likely be forthcoming...

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 10:34 pm

I need to order a copy of it si i can read it. Unfortunately our local library doesnt have it.

orion8 · Post by **orion8** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 6:31 pm

LB206 wrote:I've never read that one i'll have to check it out. Another one Kemara recomended to me but i havent read is A Smile as Big as the Moon. From what shes told me its a book about a group of mentally handicapped kids and their fight to beable to go to space camp. Its a true story written by their teacher i believe. Kemara says its really good maybe se can tell us more.

I've read that it and its pretty good. My favorite part is one kid says "isn't space camp for smart kids?"

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 8:17 pm

I really need to get a copy of that book it seems like everyone has read it but me.

monkeynautt · Post by **monkeynautt** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 9:43 pm

I saw it on the net. Now I just have to find a copy.

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 11:48 pm

I'll probably get it from Amazon.com

Post by **Vincent** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 12:19 am

Amazon has it for $16.77 plus shipping while buy.com has it for $15.07 with free shipping...

...just a thought!

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:55 am

Thanks vincent ill check it out.

stargazer0105 · Post by **stargazer0105** » Thu Mar 13, 2003 9:49 pm

I have a ton of space related books so we'll see how many I can remember.

Rocket Boys, The Coalwood Way, and Sky of Stone - these are the 3 books that Homer Hickam wrote about his life in Coalwood, West Virginia

Failure is Not an Option - biography of Gene Kranz flight controller

A Man on the Moon - describes the Apollo missions

The Right Stuff - it's pretty obvious why this one's good

Shirra's Space - biography of Wally Shirra

There's more but I can't remember them right now.

Post by **Vincent** » Thu Mar 13, 2003 9:58 pm

Another of my favorites (if not my most favorite) is The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Space.

It's a huge book (in all dimensions) that's fully colored with excellent photos, drawings, schematics, etc.

It's long been out of print, but you can still find copies around if you look hard enough...some people want roughly what it cost new for it though ($80) while some want even more (I saw someone wanting $120 for a copy once).

I got mind for 20 bucks! No dust jacket on it, but that doesn't really bother me, especially given the price I paid!

sts205cdr · Post by **sts205cdr** » Fri Mar 14, 2003 11:45 am

Oh boy, let's see, my favorite space books?

Top of the list is Mike Collins' _Carrying the Fire_. Followed by Walt Cunningham's _The All-American Boys_, and then maybe Geno Cernan's _Last Man on the Moon_ (Happy Birthday, Geno!!!)...

For non-astronaut books, I really like _Dragonfly_ by Burrough, _History of Manned Spaceflight_ by Baker, _A Man on the Moon_ by Chaikin, _The Race_ by Schefter, _The Unbroken Chain_ by Wendt...y'know, I could go on and on...

Books that I didn't care for? Glenn's, anything by Jerry Linenger, Gordo's, Kraft's, Kranz', Gus' _Gemini_...OK, enough of that!

--John

Boomerang · Post by **Boomerang** » Fri Mar 14, 2003 1:11 pm

Well you listed some of my favorits as ones you dont like but i guess everyone is entitled to their opinion.