Astronauts are not the only heroes of the space program. Most of the work has always been done by people on the ground, and since the end of the manned space program, all of it has. The Infinite Journey is the first book to add their voices: the engineers, technicians, and scientists who reach out into space with their minds and tools, even if they don't boldly go as astronauts do. Not all these supporting characters are like Apollo 13 Mission controller Gene Kranz, author of Failure Is Not an Option, but all have humanly interesting stories to tell.

Journalist William Burrows has matched history, quotations from people involved in the space program at all levels, and incredibly lush and inspiring photographs. As one scientist recalls, "We presented a copy of our first images of Europa from the Galileo spacecraft to Pope John Paul II, who probably gave the most succinct summary yet of these data: 'Wow.'" And you can't blame him. Burrows's book is an excellent combination of science, human insights, and the beauty and terror of space: truly inspirational. --Mary Ellen Curtin


Air & Space Smithsonian, March 2001
"Infinite Journey is an entertaining tour of the space program, enlivened by richly reproduced photographs and original voices"

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Prepared in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, this lavishly illustrated chronicle recounts the agency's most thrilling moments as remembered by those who experienced the pulse-racing drama firsthand.

In The Infinite Journey, noted space expert and Pulitzer Prize nominee William E. Burrows offers an overview of the U.S. space program, along with accounts by participants ranging from such prominent figures as Buzz Aldrin, Eileen Collins, and Homer Hickam to critical behind-the-scenes personnel.

Beautifully illustrated with more than 170 photographs, The Infinite Journey presents historic travels in space, selected with the help of NASA Chief Historian, Dr. Roger Launius. These intrepid missions range from Alan Shepard's daring flight in Freedom 7 and Neil Armstrong's first bootprints on lunar soil to revelations by the Hubble Space Telescope and Mars Global Surveyor to the historic coupling of the International Space Station's Unity and Zarya modules.

The Infinite Journey celebrates space exploration over four decades and pays tribute to the people whose sacrifice, determination, and imagination made it possible.