Tag Archives: human space flight

Two Sides of the Moon

Posted on September 5, 2013 by smellincoffee

Two Sides of the Moon© 2006 Alexei Leonov and David Scott448 pages Remember the fifties, those fat complacent days when the Future seemed a century away? Then up went Sputnik, gave the world a butt-kick, and made it clear tomorrow … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

From History’s Shadow

Posted on September 2, 2013 by smellincoffee

Star Trek: From History’s Shadow © 2013 Dayton Ward 388 pages The geocentrists were right: Earth is the center of the universe. Or at least, it was in the 20th century, for how else can you explain how many extraterrestrials, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Riding Rockets

Posted on December 22, 2012 by smellincoffee

Riding Rockets: the Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut© 2007 Mike Mullane400 pages Mike Mullane is a shuttle astronaut with a penis fixation. Although Riding Rockets is ostensibly about the opening decades of the space shuttle era in NASA, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Space Chronicles

Posted on November 19, 2012 by smellincoffee

Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier© 2012 Neil deGrasse Tyson; edited by Avis Lang384 pages On July 20th, 1969, America mesmerized the world by landing men on the Moon. For the first time in history, human feet stepped on the soil … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Moon Shot

Posted on September 17, 2012 by smellincoffee

Moon Shot: the Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon© 1995 Alan Shepard, Deke Slayton. Introduction by Neil Armstrong383 pages The Apollo program has been in the news as of late given the death of Neil Armstrong, who with … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A Man on the Moon

Posted on August 27, 2012 by smellincoffee

A Man on the Moon:  the Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts © 1994 Andrew Chaikin670 pages Yet a higher goal was calling, and we vowed to reach it soon So we gave ourselves a decade to put fire on the moon … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Lost Moon

Posted on August 3, 2012 by smellincoffee

Lost Moon: the Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13© 1994 Jim Lovell, Jeffrey Kluger368 pages No one wants to hear ominous noises coming from their car in the middle of a road trip, especially if they’re in the middle of nowhere. … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Physics of the Future

Posted on December 6, 2011 by smellincoffee

Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100© 2011 Michio Kaku389 pages We live in a remarkable time of human history. Since the industrial revolution, society has been radically altered … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Packing for Mars

Posted on October 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

Packing for Mars: the Curious Science of Life in the Void© 2010 Mary Roach334 pages It’s a long way to Tipperary.  Humans are not extremophiles. We have very specific environmental requirements for not dying in all manner of unpleasant ways, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Cosmic Connection

Posted on October 28, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective© 1973 Carl Sagan273 pages Carl Sagan penned The Cosmic Connection in the interests of communicating his own exhilaration at the human exploration of space. He begins by expressing his appreciating for being alive when … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment