We're living in a sci-fi world, but we hardly seem to notice it. Recounting the history of our most successful space program, the editors of Air & Space and Smithsonian magazines reawaken the reader's attention to the fantastic in Space Shuttle: The First 20 Years. Featuring hundreds of beautiful, enlightening, and sometimes funny photographs (many never before published), the book has compelling visual appeal for all ages. Uniquely focused on the personal experiences of the astronauts who lived and worked aboard shuttles and space stations, the text is largely made up of interviews and written reminiscences of these often-inspiring adventurers. The subjects roam from the mundane (What did Mir smell like?) to the reverent (What's it like to see the effects of war from space?). The two main parts of the book are each arranged chronologically: first following the missions from 1981 onward, then looking closely at the experience of space travelers, from training through launch and recovery. To the editor's credit, they don't shy away from retelling the story of the Shuttle program's most defining moment--the 1986 Challenger disaster. Though it's every bit as chilling to read about many years later, the context of later dedication to safety and noncommercial uses heightens the value of the sacrifice. A glossary, detailed mission list, and thorough illustrated guide to shuttle operations round out the book, making it a valuable reference and an important reminder that our species has achieved something heroic. --Rob Lightner


From Library Journal
This amazing book documents the history of the space shuttle program by collecting anecdotes and reminiscences from the astronauts and some remarkable pictures of the shuttle and Earth from space. Compiled by the editors of Air&Space/Smithsonian magazine, the 77 well-edited, first-person accounts are honest and compelling. The astronauts tell funny stories, describe their first experiences in zero gravity, and reveal their fear of failing in their missions. Many complain that the busy schedule during flights left no time to gaze out the window at Earth. Selected from the NASA archives, the numerous color photographs some previously unpublished complement the astronauts' recollections and show amazing views of Earth and the astronauts working in and outside the shuttles. Because this work provides firsthand accounts of the shuttle program, it will be valuable to historians of manned space flight. But casual readers will also be captivated by the astronauts' unique descriptions of the flights, especially the personal details that are usually omitted from books about the shuttle, such as Dennis R. Jenkins's more technology-focused Space Shuttle. Highly recommended. Jeffrey Beall, Univ. of Colorado Lib., DenverCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Book News, Inc.
This volume collects the personal stories of 77 space shuttle astronauts who tell about life aboard the world's only reusable spaceships over the past 20 years. They reveal what it is like to launch into orbit, float weightless, conduct spacewalks, view the earth from 200 miles up, build a space station, and rustle seven-ton satellites by hand, thus taking the reader behind the scenes to an adventure most experience only in science fiction films. Extensively illustrated with color photographs. Edited by Reichhardt, consulting editor for Air & Space/Smithsonian.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Description
An unprecedented look at the Space Shuttle experience, as told by the astronauts themselves. The editors of Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine wrote all of the people who have flown on the Space Shuttle since 1981 with a simple request: Tell us your best stories. The astronauts' fascinating and candid responses reveal the drama of the Shuttle experience, from launch to landing, like no other book has to date. More than 300 stunning pictures selected from deep in the NASA archives, most have never been published. Personal anecdotes drawn from written submissions or original interviews with 77 Shuttle astronauts. Historical section highlights in words and pictures the greatest accomplishments of the Shuttle's first two decades. Complete with brief descriptions of all 103 flights from April 1981 to April 2001, Space Shuttle includes a foreword written by astronaut Jim Lovell, who was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the film Apollo 13.


About the Author
Air & Space / Smithsonian Magazine is published in association with the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., the world's most visited museum. The magazine brings the excitement of aviation and space exploration to a non-technical readership, and is known for its vivid, true-to-life portraits of pilots and astronauts at work. James A. Lovell was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1962, and flew in space four times, on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13. As the command module pilot and navigator for Apollo 8, he made humanity's first voyage beyond Earth orbit.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Through written submissions and original interviews with the editors of Air & Space / Smithsonian magazine, the astronauts tell in candid detail what it's really like to launch into orbit, float weightless, conduct spacewalks, view the Earth from 200 miles up, build a space station and rustle seven-ton satellites by hand. Their stories of adventure, surprise, fear, and awe takes us behind the scenes to a wondrous place that few people can visit for themselves." The photographs in the book, many of them published here for the first time, were collected from deep in the NASA archives to portray the shuttle experience from the astronaut's point of view.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

This amazing book documents the history of the space shuttle program by collecting anecdotes and reminiscences from the astronauts and some remarkable pictures of the shuttle and Earth from space. Compiled by the editors of Air&Space/Smithsonian magazine, the 77 well-edited, first-person accounts are honest and compelling. The astronauts tell funny stories, describe their first experiences in zero gravity, and reveal their fear of failing in their missions. Many complain that the busy schedule during flights left no time to gaze out the window at Earth. Selected from the NASA archives, the numerous color photographs some previously unpublished complement the astronauts' recollections and show amazing views of Earth and the astronauts working in and outside the shuttles. Because this work provides firsthand accounts of the shuttle program, it will be valuable to historians of manned space flight. But casual readers will also be captivated by the astronauts' unique descriptions of the flights, especially the personal details that are usually omitted from books about the shuttle, such as Dennis R. Jenkins's more technology-focused Space Shuttle. Highly recommended. Jeffrey Beall, Univ. of Colorado Lib., Denver Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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