Space Books

"Rockets of the World" would be hard act to top, but Alway comes close with this excellent "prequel". Retro Rockets describes the work of early rocket pioneers such as Goddard and Von Braun, and provides the same fine detail drawings that has made his previous works so popular with scale modelers and rocket enthusiasts. Starting with a brief nod to some antecedent solid fuel advancements by such notables as Maul and Tiling, Retro Rockets concentrates mainly on liquid fuel development in the US, Germany and Russia. A must-have for all rocket scale modelers.

Owning all of Mr. Alway's books, I must admit that this is the only one I've actually read each and every word, cover to cover, three times. Not only is the scale data of the same quality as Alway's "Rockets of the World" (ROTW), the historical text concerning each rocket and its designer is exceptional. Especially if you are a fan of Dr. Robert Goddard, to whom a large part of the book is devoted. A lot of the rockets presented represent the infancy of modern rocketry and are a little harder to make scale models of than most of those in ROTW...but then that's why we modellers bought it!

Unlike his first book Rockets of the World, Retro Rockets is not principally about scaling data for modellers. In this book he covers in great detail the pioneers of liquid fuel rockets with emphasis on Robert Goddard, a man whose achievements have not received anything like the recognition they deserve. But he also outlines the German and Russian rocket societies that flourished between the world wars, and spends a little time on the development of the first ballistic missile, the A4 (V2).

Some might find the detailed descriptions of the versions these early rockets went through a bit tedious, but for any rocketry buff or student of technical history Retro Rockets should be a must read.

The First Women in Space Program of the 1960's is an endeavor that has become all but forgotten in American history. That is until Margaret A. Weitekamp's recent book about the subject came along.

During the 1950's, there was massive resistance in U.S. government circles against any kind of a space program. There were, however, visionaries such as William Randolph "Randy" Lovelace II who promoted the benefits of a strong space program. It was not until after both the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik in 1957 coupled with the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 that a strong American space program came into existence.

Since the Kennedy Administration refused to countenance the idea of a women in space program, it was up to the likes of Lovelace & famed aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran to start a private program towards that goal. Another prominent woman in the U.S. aviation industry to support Lovelace's program was Jerrie Cobb who had passed all of the tests that had been administered to the NASA astronauts, but who had been passed over simply because she was a woman.

In the end, Lovelace's program came to naught due to a lack of funding, but the memory of it lives on in this splendid work.

I am an admirer of Weitekamp's excellent work at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum as Curator of the Social and Cultural History of Spaceflight. Which is why I found this book a little puzzling, as it failed to give an adequate degree of social and cultural context to the area she is discussing. The book collects together all of the facts, and isn't inaccurate. However I found a much superior assessment of the "Mercury 13" program in Burgess and French's book Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965 (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of S). In one extraordinary chapter, they capture the true cultural, historical and social context of this program far better than this entire book-length treatment. They also contrast the Soviet women in space program very well.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend this book as a very interesting read into a fascinating time in American history, and congratulate the author on her great research.

Margaret Weitekamp's book addresses a long-forgotten but recently rediscovered chapter in American history. At the height of the Space Race's Cold War fervor, a mix of private and public figures made several initial moves in the direction of introducing women to America's space program. None of these women ever really got close to becoming an astronaut due to an array of institutional and cultural constraints to their progress. They have been both lionized and marginalized by different camps over the last 40 years, with distortions and half-truths from every side. Weitekamp's book finally cuts through the clamor. It gathers an enormous array of rare and forgotten documents and details, along with oral history from the women themselves, to weave an authoritative narrative of the events. It should earn its place as a definitive work in this area.

Weitekamp's writing is precise and well-documented, with all the attention to sources and structure that academics need to be kept happy. Her focus is on gender (as befits the subject), but her work gradually yields a subtle examination of the perspectives, motives and positions of the women who confront its cultural manifestations. Like all good history, this reads like a movie waiting to happen. Jackie Cochran is the most intriguing character of the lot, with her political savvy and daredevil streak taking her from setting records on the tarmac to meetings in the Oval Office. Jerrie Cobb, the more public face of the original group of women at the climax of these events, suffered from a political naivety, but came to see the structural impediments to women perhaps more clearly than anyone. Easily the best piece of social and cultural history I've read this year.

My 3-year-old always selects this book as one of the 5 books we read each night before bedtime. The illustrations are beautiful and colorful and the story is well-written without being too long and drawn out.

My son loves books, but has a short attention span (as 3-year-olds do) and has, in the past, preferred books with only a sentence or two on each page. The Rooftop Rocket Party is so engaging that he pays close attention to the story, even though there are several small paragraphs on some pages, and asks a lot of questions about what's going on. There are enough fun characters and memorable lines that we act out parts when we read it together. We borrowed this from the library but he loves it so much I will have to buy it for him!

My two-year old son asks for this book all the time. He likes the pictures and the story and has now started noticing "rooftop rockets" on buildings. An exceptional, imaginative, intelligent book.

Beautiful, whimsical pictures, a strong, sympathetic hero and a charming, inventive tale about science and imagination make this a wondeful book for children, and a lot of fun for adults! The Man in the Moon playing his pale violin will become an icon for those who read this as children - this has the makings of a classic.

The book addresses issues such as:
*creating privacy
*adding character
*warming up a room
*dealing with narrow spaces
*refreshing a room
*expanding small areas
The photos are fairly small, but that does allow for many examples. Most of the ideas are easily applied to your own situation, so give it a try.

This book has numerous great ideas for making awkwardly shaped spaces work, which sets it apart from other interior decorating books. There are also dozens of fantastic and unique examples for mixing new and old furnishings, and color guides to achieve the look you want.

This was a great buy. Lots of good ideas for maximizing space. The interiors are eclectic which I love.

This is a rare book. When yours arrives check to ensure that it was printed in Spain. This is one of the secret treasures of the professional astrologer, and is one of the most sought-after astrology texts you will find by those who know its true value.

This is far and away the most beautiful book on astrology ever written, and one of the most informative on several points found nowhere else, and it will be a hard act to follow. A.T. Mann researched Buddhism, psychology, geology, astronomy, philosophy, Jungianism (I could go on, but I think you get the idea), and several other sciences and disciplines before setting these words to paper. Of course you should ONLY buy the hard cover - when you can find it. I have owned 4 copies of this book. The first one cost me $120 through a rare book dealer, the second $100 through a rare book dealer, and the later two a paltry $25 and $10 respectively (bookseller who had no idea what the book was, and a copy from Amazon). I state these facts as you really have to see how detailed this book is to understand why ANYONE would hoard copies of this book, or pay so much for the information contained herein. This book is a masterpiece.

The book is packed solid with charts and graphs to accentuate the knowledge imparted. Mandalas also grace the pages of this book, as astrology is a Mandala of time and various energies. Various famous person's charts are also included as a curio. The centerpieces of this book however the grid-charts on sign/planet/aspect/house correlations. These are invaluable, and simply a "must-see" to truly appreciate.

This book is OUT OF PRINT but available on Amazon and through rare booksellers. The information is also available in a paperback version (The round art: The astrology of time and space), but how much of the art is lost in the translation is a debatable point. The art is so important to the understanding of the text herein. The concepts you will find here you will not find in any one other source. It is simply a book that you have to experience. This book will take you FAR into mastery of this intense science. Once you have your own copy you will most likely be overly-possessive of it, as I should have been the first three times.

The Round Art is the perhaps the most comprehensive work around for those interested in the mechanisms of astrology, including understanding astronomical phenomena and celestial movements, archetypal symbolism, and chart interpretation. Not only explain the what's and how's of astrology but also the why's, a fine book.

This one of best book's I have read in a long time, on Astrology. Mann, goes into detail and also makes sure you understand what your reading. This book will help anyone who takes the time read it, understand Astrology.

Spacesuits should be of renewed interest with the upcoming private space tourist ventures.

I bought this book after I had the opportunity to examine, hands-on, a Russian SOKOL rescue suit. What struck me was the sheer simplicity of the design and I wanted to know more about this suit.

This book provides much of that background, plus that of the famous Orlan EVA suits and others in the history of the Russian space program.

Compared to the related books on US Spacesuits (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration), it is remarkable how different Russian suits are, and how much more conservative their designs are. Russian suits, like their spacecraft are relatively stable designs undergoing incremental improvements, probably in response to the much fewer resources available to them for development.

The book covers the development well, although I did not notice any mention of ideas borrowed from US suits, whereas the book on US spacesuits has a wry mention of the remarkable similarity of some US suit components to Russian ones.

As with the US spacesuit book, the same comments on the lack of color illustrations and technical details apply.

In Russia, the need for suits to be worn in the upper atmosphere, developed in the 1930:ies, engendered the suits to be used in spacecrafts, outside spacecrafts and on the Moon. Naturally, the use of a protective garment inside the space cabin was the first usage, Juri Gagarin wore such a garment on his historic flight. Even today the protective garment is the iconic spacesuit, which we see Cosmonaut wearing as their uniforms for the trip off the Earth. Suits for extravehicular activities, EVA, are quite different. The Soviet Union, of course, never made it to the lunar surface, but had a cosmonaut, probably Alexei Leonov, made a landing, he would have been dressed for the occasion. After all, the first Space Walk ever was also a first testing of a garment to be worn on the Moon, by the man who was supposed to wear it!
The space suit technology, as developed in the Soviet Union, was even applicable to our canine friends, some of which did ballistic flights into space dressed more or less like the dog Milou in Hergés "Tin-Tin on the Moon". Thus we know where to turn if we want to walk our dogs on the Moon.
When Westerners started to fly in space alongside the Soviets, later Russians, in Saljut, Mir and International Space Station, it was as had inhabitants from different planets met. Now we may appreciate all those differences in technical culture as exemplified in the space suits of the Cosmonauts. There is, of course all the common ground resulting from like problems demanding like solutions, but overlying we see these subtle differences arising from different technical and engineering usages of two different cultures.
The book is co-authored by some of the actual developers of space suits in the then Soviet Union, later Russia, and thus as authoritative on the subject as can be. Fascinatingly, also, the historical developments inside the Soviet Union/Russia and internationally, reflect in much that the space suit developers had to contend with.
The scope of common activities betveen the Russians and the West European ESA was news to this rewiewer. We also note, that the Chinese "taikonauts" wear protective suits designed by the nowadays "Zvezda Development and Production Company". We also read of the challenge of rendering original technical texts in Russian into readable English, and concomitant difficulties inherent in the fact that, not only is translation of language required, but even the transliteration from one system of letters, i.e. Cyrillic, into our Roman alphabet poses its own problems and pitfalls. On the whole, the endeavour has been crowned with success. The system of measurements are, thankfully, the same on both sides of this barrier of language and glyphs.
All in all fascinating facts from a space program now slowly opening itself to inquisitive Western eyes. Great hopes for the future is embodied in the prospects of joint developments of the advanced spacesuits for space station EVA and the lunar and martian surfaces.

This is an excellent book with details not before shown outside the formerly closed confines of the old Soviet space program, except in various technical society papers. It has many excellent b&w photos and diagrams of Russian spacesuits from the SK-1, used for Vostok, up to the most modern Russian investigations of Mars EVA suits. The text is somewhat general in content though well written. It is also done in the typical style of Russian/English transliteration. Readers in the West, if they have not previously read any Russian technical papers, may find the transliteration hard to follow at times; but, this does not detract from the value of Mr. Ibramov's good work. If I had any complaint about the book it would be two items. First, the book lacks some technical detail in specific areas, so it sometimes creates more questions than it answers. If I did not already have a background in pressure suits some explanations would have confused me. The inclusion of a few explanatory drawings could have avoided this. Second, while the book gives credit, for the first time, as to which designers at Zvzeda created various general concepts, it does not often shed light on specific contributions, or the dynamimics involved in individual contributions. Nevertheless,I recomend this book. It is a MUST for your library. If the reader wants a technical look at Russian spacesuits I recommend "Pressure Suits and Systems For Work In The Open Cosmos" by Abramov, Severin, Stoklitsky and Sharipov. It is, however, a nearly impossible to find textbook.

Thsi book is a marvel of natural beauty brought to life through exquisite photos and insightful poetry and prose.

This book is wonderful. Mr. Lehrman highlights the link between our connection to the Earth and our spiritual state of mind. That state of mind is often strengthened by being in places that are awe-inspiring. I often use his poetry and prose accompanying many of the pictures for inspiration and meditation as well. His words help me to look deeper into a beautiful place or a powerful image of nature, and not just focus on a pretty picture. I also like how he makes the connection between spirituality one feels from external stimuli, such as looking at a mountain, and the spirituality one can tap from looking inward into our own souls, noting that the source is the same. One thought in particular stays with me, that once you learn to feel that spiritual link, you can feel it anywhere; powerful or beautiful places of nature merely serve to amplify it.

Phenomenal photography of sacred sites from around the world. Not all the sites are considered sacred from a traditional standpoint but are sacred from the standpoint of moving the observed to a sense of reverence. From Ayer's Rock in Australia to Machu Picchu in Peru to Glastonbury Tor in England this is a collection of landscape photographs and paintings that are sure to leave a reader with a sense of awe. With each picture there is also a poem or appropriate prose. At another time and place they may have been inspirational words but here they only distract. The last dozen pages of the book contain a few articles about the earth and our responsibilities for the earth and they are excellent articles.
This is a book to purchase and keep out in the open where you can open it to a random page and enjoy the beauty that it portrays. Leave it on a coffee table or end table when entertaining and it is sure to open up conversations as someone pages through it. Read it in thirty minutes, enjoy it for a lifetime.

I could type a great deal about this book, but if you are reading this I can only say that this is required reading and a mandatory reference book for any safety professional or hygienist.

Great coverage on the subject!

Confined spaces represent an often-unrecognized source of potentially serious injuries in workplaces throughout the world. The mere fact that a work area is restricted in some fashion (difficult entry, small volume or filled with obstacles) can turn a more commonplace event, such as a slip, trip or fall, into a serious injury or fatality. In a confined space, even the atmosphere can be deadly to workers.

Although many countries have recently developed or updated health and safety regulations and the general recognition of the hazards of these spaces has improved, over the years, very few good references have been published on the subject. "Safety and Health in Confined Spaces" is one of these. Mr. McManus has obviously put a tremendous amount of time and effort into a book which, although targeted more towards professional Industrial Hygienists than laypersons, still provides a valuable reference to anyone managing or developing confined space programs.

The first few chapters of the book describe some of the typical (as well as atypical) hazards that workers might encounter in confined spaces, including toxic, flammable and explosive atmospheres, engulfment, entrapment and confined energy (i.e.: mechanical and electrical systems and radiation). Later topics include the use of atmospheric testing devices, personal protective equipment, ventilation requirements and emergency rescue. The addition of good photographs of testing and communications equipment, as well as lockout devices and ventilation fans, is a plus.

Both Mr. McManus and myself agree that there is a need for more professional practice in this aspect of our industry. In recognition of this fact, an entire Appendix of this book has been devoted to a discussion of "Qualified Persons" - individuals with the appropriate qualifications and training specific to the recognition of hazards in confined spaces. To address this issue, Mr. McManus has provided a great deal of information on hazard management in confined spaces, including examples of hazard assessments and a model confined space program. What I have found particularly useful is that much of this information has been included in individual Appendices, for easier reference (one of these, "Appendix A: Standards, Guidelines and Regulations" even discusses the development of standards and guidelines in a number of countries, including Canada).

As an Industrial Hygienist who has routinely been involved in the preparation of hazard assessments and the development of procedures for work in confined spaces, I have found the book to be extremely valuable reference and recommend it to all Industrial Hygiene and Safety professionals.

If you are a safety and health professional this book should be part of your library and toolkit. This is an original work and not just a re-statement of the OSHA regulations with a fancy title and cover as so many EHS books are. I found the book a most useful tool on how to approach an overall health and safety program, with entry into confined spaces only a subset of that program. Readers will find the techniques, recommendations, materials, and the way of thinking equally valuable for situations outside of confined spaces as inside such work places. Readers will find the approach of the author is one of colleague sharing information ("This is the way I approached this problem, and here is what I found out.") rather than a typical listing of possible solutions culled from other sources. Chapter 8 is partuclarly valuable in that Mr. McManus takes you through his original approach to hazard assessment, and, although applicable to just about any situation faced by the EHS professional, is an excellent and comprehensive way to logically tackle the high hazard challenges of confined space entry. Chapter 5 on aspects of using a 'boundary surface' as an approach to dealing with atmospheric hazards in confined spaces is a good example of how Mr. McManus has broken out of the traditional and typical way of thinking about this topic; this is one example of real advantage of this book in that he presents a different and fresh way to approach many aspects of safety and health challenges. There are also numerous anecdotes presented that I have used in my training in confined space entry work (e.g., the dead rodent in the vault that was suspected of causing an oxygen deficiency down to 5% O2). After having used this book for some time, I find that I reach for this book first on just about any subject as I usually find something about everything there. Robert Moats, PE, CIH, CSP

SENTINELS OF THE SUN: FORECASTING SPACE WEATHER is for any collection strong in either astronomy or weather science - which will likely mean college-level, but also some public library holdings. General-interest readers will find most accessible this survey of space weather forecasting history and science, which surveys the idea and nature of space weather and the technology which seeks to predict it. An outstanding guide, SENTINELS OF THE SUN includes color charts, photos, and black and white shots and considers both civilian and military applications of space weather science.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

"Sentinels of the Sun: Forecasting Space Weather" is a readable and informative book that vastly increases the non-astronomers knowledge of the history and nature of space weather. As a regular reader of the New York Times Science section, I find that this book, by successful first-time authors, Barbara Poppe and Kristin Jorden, appeals to a similar audience--those interested, but not expert, in specific areas of science and its practical applications. Illustrated with a variety of interesting photos and graphics, "Sentinels of the Sun" fully engages its readers. I commend it to fellow Amazon-ites.

Yes, Virginia, there is weather in space. Not, of course, weather as we know it, but the sun puts out all kinds of radiation besides the visible light that makes day time. Of particular concern to the space-weather forecasters is measuring and predicting the radiation that would affect communications on earth or which might damage the instruments aboard satellites.

In October 2003 a major unpredicted solar storm occurred which caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of satellites to stop working, permanently. They are now just floating space junk. Closer to home, airlines had to re-route flights (costing up to $100K per flight), electric power grids failed, radio communications were affected, homing pigeons get lost, and more.

This book summarizes the development of space weather analysis and forecasting over the past fifty years. It is part history, part science, part explanation of how it affects us. This is an interesting book on a subject that most of us have never heard of.

I have owned several sets of this trilogy over the past 30 years. I keep loaning them out and they never return! I've talked people into buying the first book and they ALWAYS come back and buy the other two.

Shadow of the Swan continues the story with the same intensity and depth as the first. Trilogys often feel like a single book stretched with fluff and filler. This one avoids that and builds your interest and desire to discover what happens next in the lives of these people.

I wish Wren would write more in this genre.

This is a great read!

I read this series on the recommendation of a friend of my mother, and she was right about how terrific the series is. It is extremely well-written and the mix of "history" with the ongoing action of the novels is fascinating. M.K. Wren creates an entire world and makes it completely real for the reader. The characters really come alive in the series, and you really can understand their emotions, and you care about what happens to them. Now that the books have been reprinted, it is easier to find copies, and it's worth the price. I have read a lot of sci fi trilogies over the years, and this is one of the best trilogies I have ever read. Even my husband, who generally does ot read sci fi, read this series and enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.

I read the first of these books when I was in 7th grade. It took me two years to locate a copy of the 2nd book and two more to find the 3rd. It was well worth the wait and I stayed up all night to read the final book. The characters are wonderfully crafted, the story line is multilevel. The only books I have read more times are "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Lord of the Rings". If you can locate a copy of these in a used book store, buy them! Don't let the romance novel apperance keep you from enjoying these great books.