Don Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 So, I am a huge reader. I read anytime I get a few moments and many times I get lost in the book and need to be reminded that I have somewhere else to be or something else to do :D . Anyways, I have had a recent rekindling of my interest in manned space exploration, NASA, and the various vehicles used to launch astronauts into space or drive them around the surface of the moon. I just finished reading "Lost Moon" about Apollo 13 and loved it. Yesterday I picked up the space shuttle Walk Around book and its been interesting and educational so far (although not very current and up to date). So, what are "must read" books about manned space flight? The Apollo program, Space Shuttle design and missions, Mercury and Gemini missions...what are good books to read (astronaut perspective?) and what are good books for reference? Thanks all for your thoughts and suggestions. Cheers! Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KursadA Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 (edited) "Into the Black" (by Rowland White) is a brand new book on the genesis and development of the Space Shuttle. I bought it when it was released a couple months ago - I have not started reading it yet, but I skimmed it and it seems to be very thorough and interesting. You may want to take a look. Edited August 31, 2016 by KursadA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 "Into the Black" (by Rowland White) is a brand new book on the genesis and development of the Space Shuttle. I bought it when it was released a couple months ago - I have not started reading it yet, but I skimmed it and it seems to be very thorough and interesting. You may want to take a look. Thank you! I had my eyes on that book so I just ordered it. Much Appreciated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I found Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff engaging. Not for reference but it paints a nice picture about astronauts' lives, their thoughts and fears during the Gemini and early Apollo program. I liked his story-telling and amusing, almost always-panicking : ) style of writing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
archybean Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Any of the books written by the Apollo guys are good reads. I especially enjoyed Guenter Wendts The Unbroken Chain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GEH737 Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I enjoyed the memoir of John Glenn - it really showed a lot of insight into why he was the right guy at the right time to do what he did. I was fortunate enough to have him on one of my flights before his Shuttle flight. We got to talk for a bit after we got to Orlando. I had him sign the flight plan - and consider it an honor to have met him. "First Man" - the biography of Neil Armstrong is not an easy read - but it's an absolutely fascinating insight into why he was absolutely the perfect guy for the job. The stars truly had to be perfectly aligned with his background. He really was a real life "Mr. Spock" - and I mean that with the highest compliment. There are very few people who were ever so perfect for a mission. Like I said - not an easy read - but you'll understand him a whole lot more than whatever you think of him now. Hitch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricardo Salamé Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Here my two cents A Man on the Moon Andrew Chaikin Moonwalker Charly Duke Carringthe Fire Michael Collins Moon Shoot Alan Shepard and Dake Slayton The History of Manned Spaceflight David Baker Moon Lander Tom Kelly Deke Salyton and Cassut Dragonfly Bryan Bourrough Krolev Hartford APOLLO Alan Bean One Small Step Tim Furniess Enjoy Ricardo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Great stuff fellas! This is exactly what I was looking for! Cheers! Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 I would add the following to the list: Riding Rockets by Mike Mullane (early shuttle era astronaut perspective) Sky Walking by Tom Jones (shuttle era from 1992 to 2001 or so) Falling to Earth by Al Worden and Francis French The Ordinary Spaceman by Clay Anderson Any of the "Outward Odyssey" book series from University of Nebraska Press also come highly recommended if you want a tie into the whole history of the space program from pre-Sputnik to modern day. Not all are astronaut-centric necessarily, but you get a pretty good education as to what went on at the time. http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/Catalog/ProductSearch.aspx?ExtendedSearch=false&SearchOnLoad=true&rhl=Outward+Odyssey&sj=765&rhdcid=765 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 (edited) I see a lot of titles mentioned here are historical....all fine and good. I am going to go in a different direction, as I am just as much interested in the future as the past. At the very top of my list is Robert Zubrin's The Case for Mars-The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must. This is a study of various ways to put together a Mars mission and establish a viable permanent presence. It contains lot of practical science and Zubrin emphasizes that as daunting as the technical challenges are, political will looms even larger. Buzz Adrin's Mission to Mars is also good. It is a little more philosophical and not as quite technical as Zubrin's book. Edited September 2, 2016 by DutyCat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
archybean Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 One I forgot about; Two Sides of the Moon written by Dave Scott and Alexei Leonov. Same goal chronicling both sides of the US/Soviet race for the moon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K5054NZ Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 I've just reached the launch of STS-1 in Into The Black. It's fantastic and hard to put down. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 I've just reached the launch of STS-1 in Into The Black. It's fantastic and hard to put down. Good to know...my copy should be here tomorrow. Can't wait! Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Modeler7 Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Everything everyone already mentioned plus "Unbroken Chain" by Guenter Wendt. I had the chance to meet him and got my book signed or I would give it to you. It is a great insider's view of this unique persons roll in history. The Astronauts really trusted him and after the Apollo 1 fire, they demanded that he be hired back. That is why you see him associated with the Astronauts. They use to love to play practical jokes with him. The famous "No Handball" sign of Alan Shepard. "I wonder where Gunther Vent" after closing the doors of the capsule. Lots of good stories. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 "Riding Rockets" is one of my favorite books. To me it was a very interesting perspective and very entertaining. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkjm Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Good to know...my copy should be here tomorrow. Can't wait! Cheers! Allow me to add further praise to this book. I finished it earlier this summer and absolutely enjoyed every last page. I'm so used to the ultra technical side of the shuttle program, but this was definitely more a biography on the shuttle than a technical manual. It was a joy to read! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Everything everyone already mentioned plus "Unbroken Chain" by Guenter Wendt. I had the chance to meet him and got my book signed or I would give it to you. It is a great insider's view of this unique persons roll in history. The Astronauts really trusted him and after the Apollo 1 fire, they demanded that he be hired back. That is why you see him associated with the Astronauts. They use to love to play practical jokes with him. The famous "No Handball" sign of Alan Shepard. "I wonder where Gunther Vent" after closing the doors of the capsule. Lots of good stories. Yes, Unbroken Chain is in my collection as well, also autographed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beauslx Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Apollo by Charles Murray is a very good about the Apollo program. Failure is Not An Option by Gene Kranz is another good read. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TankerTweaker Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Would like to add Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam (The movie October Sky) is based on his book and Failure Is Not an Option by Gene Kranz. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FlyAndFight Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Some good books already mentioned so I won't repeat them but here are a few more: "Last Man on the Moon" - Gene Cernan "Carrying the Fire : An Astronaut's Journeys" - Michael Collins "A Man on the Moon" - Andrew Chaikin (3 volume boxed set) An amazing set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Ooo-o-o ... it's nice to be back here on ARC ... A couple other books, and I've read most of the others listed here too, are ... Scott Carpenter, For Spacious Skies For All Mankind, Harry Hurt III Live from Cape Canaveral, Jay Barbree Because my main interest in this hobby is the American Space Program, all these, and the aforementioned, books are a really good read! I hope you enjoy reading them over this upcoming cold winter! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob LaPorta Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 A man on the moon by Chaikin is a must read. It was the basis for the HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon" How Apollo Flew to the Moon by David Woods tells you how it was done, nuts and bolts Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) I'm going to take the easy path (having to twice move all those books made it definitely not the lazy path!) and put up pictures of all my books relevant to manned space flight and dump the job of classifying and researching them on other people. ;) The one cover shown by itself would not have given enough info from the spine. Here's a little bit about its subject, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obituaries/9649596/Tom-Smith.html Quote Tom Smith, who has died aged 85, led a team of aeronautical engineers at the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) which, in the 1960s, produced full plans for a British Space Shuttle, long before Enterprise, Columbia or Challenger were even a gleam in an American designer’s eye. 6:53PM GMT 01 Nov 2012 The idea of the Multi-Unit Space Transport And Recovery Device, or MUSTARD as it was known, arose out of an Air Ministry contract for BAC to study “hypersonic” speed (five times the speed of sound and above). A team was formed under Smith’s leadership at BAC’s Warton airbase, near Preston, Lancashire. “We started by looking at things which were Concorde-ish in nature,” Smith recalled, “and went on from there to high speed aircraft which would travel at Mach 12 [12 times the speed of sound]... We gradually realised that we could go from air-breathers, which would stay in the earth’s atmosphere, into space.” And a model at Smithsonian, https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/model-space-shuttle-british-aircraft-corporation-mustard-triamese-concept Quote This British Aircraft Corporation concept for a fully reusable space transportation system was studied long before the Shuttle research effort in 1969-1972. First presented in 1962, the design was called MUSTARD (Multi-Unit Space Transport and Recovery Device). It featured three piloted lifting-body vehicles - two boosters and an orbiter - that would be launched either stacked or clustered. During ascent the spent boosters would separate and be flown like a glider back to land, and the orbiter would continue into space and later make a gliding return. All propellants were carried inside each vehicle. The origin of this model is unknown; it may have come to the Museum from its designer, British Aircraft Corporation. Edited March 5, 2018 by southwestforests Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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