NASA and the Exploration of Space: With Works from the Nasa Art Collection [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Ph.D. Roger Launius (Author), Bertram Ulrich (Author), Senator John Glenn (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

Developed with NASA and the National Air & S pace Museum to coincide with the 40th anniversary of NASA an d John Glenn''s return to space on the Space Shuttle Columbia , this collection of images chronicles the history of the U. S. space programme. '

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The curator of NASA's art collection and the agency's chief historian have collaborated to put together this arresting collection of paintings, drawings, and sculptures representing more than 30 years of space exploration. From the Mercury flights to the Mars Pathfinder mission, artists interpret the sights and emotions of each journey. Some focus on the astronauts, some on the machinery, some on the behind-the-scenes action. Each work is unique, whether realistic or impressionistic. This is a gorgeous book--perfect for space buffs, science historians, and anyone interested in a different perspective on human efforts to explore the universe.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang; 1st edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556706960
• ISBN-13: 978-1556706967
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,428,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roger D. Launius is a senior curator in the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Between 1990 and 2002 he served as chief historian of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A graduate of Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa, he received his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, in 1982 and worked as a civilian historian with the United States Air Force until 1990.

He has written or edited more than twenty books on aerospace history, among others including "Smithsonian Atlas of Space Exploration" (HarperCollins, 2009); "Robots in Space: Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008); "Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars" (Smithsonian Books, 2003; 2nd ed. 2009), which received the AIAA's history manuscript prize; "Flight: A Celebration of 100 Years in Art and Literature" (Welcome Books, 2003); "Reconsidering a Century of Flight" (University of North Carolina Press, 2003); "To Reach the High Frontier: A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles" (University Press of Kentucky, 2002); "Imagining Space: Achievements, Possibilities, Projections, 1950-2050" (Chronicle Books, 2001); "Innovation and the Development of Flight" (Texas A&M University Press, 1999); "NASA & the Exploration of Space" (Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, 1998); "Frontiers of Space Exploration" (Greenwood Press, 1998, rev. ed. 2004); "Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership" (University of Illinois Press, 1997); and "NASA: A History of the U.S. Civil Space Program" (Krieger Publishing Co., 1994, rev. ed. 2001).

He is also involved in other historical studies. His book, "Joseph Smith III: Pragmatic Prophet" (University of Illinois Press, 1988), won the prestigious Evans Award for biography. He has also published "Differing Visions: Dissenters in Mormon History" (University of Illinois Press, 1994), "Cultures in Conflict: A Documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois" (Utah State University Press, 1995), "Kingdom on the Mississippi Revisited: Nauvoo in Mormon History" (University of Illinois Press, 1996), and several others. "Alexander William Doniphan: Portrait of a Missouri Moderate" (University of Missouri Press, 1997), discusses the role of the vital center in American politics during the Mexican-American War and sectional conflict.

More recently he has been studying the relationship of baseball to American culture and has published, "Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman" (Walker and Co., 2010), and "Seasons in the Sun: The Story of Big League Baseball in Missouri" (University of Missouri Press, 2002).

He served as a consultant to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003 and presented the prestigious Harmon Memorial Lecture in Military History at the United States Air Force Academy in 2006. In addition, he is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Academy of Astronautics, and the American Astronautical Society, and Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is frequently consulted by the electronic and print media for his views on space issues, and has been a guest commentator on National Public Radio and all the major television networks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exquisitely illustrated history of the space program., November 29, 1998

By 

harriet schwab "voracious reader" (san francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NASA and the Exploration of Space: With Works from the Nasa Art Collection (Hardcover)

Mary Kalamaras was the in-house STC editor not the author. Please correct. I wanted, when planning the publication of this book, to publish an exciting and riveting history of the space program. I wanted to illustrate it with the extraordinary art collection that NASA has been building from its inception, inviting artists from Robert Rauschenberg to Norman Rockwell to attend its launches and observe and document its work. This published work is my dream come true. Brilliantly written and finally designed by Nai Chang, and superbly printed, it is everything a gift book is supposed to be: a great story informed by extraordinary images... in this case one of the most absorbing stories of the twentieth century. Lena Tabori, until August 1,1998, Publisher/President of Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Arrangement and Selection of Artwork, December 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: NASA and the Exploration of Space: With Works from the Nasa Art Collection (Hardcover)

Mr. Bertram Ulrich demonstrates rare talent in picking out selections from NASA's art collection that are emblematic of different period's of the Agency's history.