Customer Reviews

America in Space: Nasa's First Fifty Years

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

America In Space is a book that space lovers should proudly obtain immediately and keep displayed in their living rooms for their entire lives. It is amazing. You don't get coffee table books nicer than this one.

The forward by Neil Armstrong is profound and moving, and it clearly shows how far humankind has come in terms of it's ability to travel. The pictures are even better. The first speed planes that broke the mach barriers, the early shuttles, multiple views of space, and even rare photographs of other galaxies and the formation of our universe. My personal favorite is a double leaf on pages 270-271...it's a picture you have to see to believe...and you still won't believe it.

A beautiful way to mark NASA's 50th Anniversary milestone.

This book is nicely done with a large number of photographs. It primarily covers the manned space program from Mercury to the space shuttle and the international space station. Limited coverage of unmanned vehicles is provided with a focus on the more dramatic programs such as the Mars explorers and the Hubble telescope.

The biggest shortcoming, in my mind, is the very limited number of photographs showing the hardware, the delvelopment of which was in many ways the real achievement of NASA. Instead, photographs of the astronauts predominate with many being rather ordinary publicity or training shots. Launch photos are very limited, and in-flight pictures are not as common as I would have liked to have seen. The large format of the book was wasted on too many mundane photographs, when it could have been used to depict more spectacular and interesting subjects.

While this book falls short of its potential, it is still worthwile if you have an interest in the U. S. manned space program.

This book is huge, look at the dimensions before you buy (14.5 x 11.2 x 1.4 inches), when it's open it takes over 22 inchs of desk or lap space. It's mostly high quality color pictures and very little text. I grew up during the start of the US space program and find most of the early pictures fascinating. The book is sectioned off by different space programs beginning with project Mercury and ends with our current programs. Other non-space programs that were required for the run-up to Mercury are covered as well. I wish there was more written about each of the different space programs. It's a good buy if you have the room for it.

Anyone who sees this book just wants to keep on looking. Why wouldn't you want to see man kinds greatest achievements in a technological standpoint. This book should appeal to everyone. Every picture tells a million words to which you just have to see them in.

The volume is worth the price of admission for the
pictures alone. There are spectacular views of the
Pillars of Creation where new stars have been born.
The Drion Nebulla is depicted in all its splendor.
There is an excellent picture of Mercury from the
Mariner 10. The Mars Odyssey of 2002 produced
a scene that looks like a great sand dune.

The space program is described from its early
beginnings on 4-13-1915 by President Woodrow Wilson.
The Apollo program (1961-1975) culminated in landing
a man on the moon. The Apollo 11 took back 47.7
samples of lunar rocks and artifacts. Pictures of
the Space Shuttle and International Space Station
are shown to "round out" the overall presentation.
Virtually every major astronaut is depicted in
full color presentations including the space garments.

The acquisition would be well worth the price for
the student or space enthusiast in your household.

A large coffee table book containing the most comprehensive black-and-white and color photographic collection of the history of NASA I have every read. Many large unique photographs offering first hand insight of the people and equipment that put man in space. Too heavy for casual night time reading but a great photographic reference book for all ages. Very well organized with chapters from pre-NASA high speed flight testing to the Shuttle program. Highly recommended for those that wish to understand the history of the American manned space flight program.

Excellent coffeetable book this is. Great pictures, often well known, some less often published. Enormous size, interesting text. Great delivery service from Amazon.Com, the book was 10 days early!
All in all a true addition to any space-enthousiast library.

When I ordered this book, I had no idea quite how large it is, you need a serious coffee table for this very serious and all-inclusive book. The book provides both a detailed narrative and a plethora of photos from the beginnings of NASA's space exploration. This book is the definitive book about America's venture into space, in its first 50 years.

Given that this is a coffee table book, the book is almost exclusivly photos. The entire history of the space program is detaied in stunning imagery right up to the current day with excellent captions to go along. This book is an excellent gift for any space history buff.

It's a BIG book that worths every penny. The pictures are great, some of them are well known, some where not that widely published before but the fun of having all of them in one big book is not spoiled. It's a great book even if you're not a fan of space exploration.
From the cover to the last page, this book offers unique views of earth, space, moon and mankind, describing in few words and lot of pictures Man's greatest adventure: exploring the Final Frontier, despite all odds.