Saturn V - America's Apollo Moon Rocket [Ring-bound]

World Spaceflight News (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2000

THE BEST TECHNICAL, NUTS-AND-BOLTS DESCRIPTION OF THE AWESOME SATURN V ROCKET IN PRINT TODAY! This WSN Special Report exclusively features two of the best NASA documents on the Saturn V documents that are not available as printed on the Web. There are over 200 images, illustrations, drawings, schematics, tables and charts. A treasure-trove of facts, figures, and historical information about mans greatest engineering achievement. If you are fascinated by the Apollo era, you need this report! THERES NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

World Spaceflight News has covered spaceflight and the Space Shuttle program since 1983. In addition to our flagship publication, we produce printed and electronic Special Reports and NASA videos, and the "MARS 2000" CD-ROM.

Product Details

• Ring-bound: 168 pages
• Publisher: Progressive Management; 1 edition (March 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893472027
• ISBN-13: 978-1893472020
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 10.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,016,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, but be realistic about its flaws, August 24, 2000

By 

dswtan (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saturn V - America's Apollo Moon Rocket (Ring-bound)

Just received my copy and I am very pleased! BUT, do watch your expectations. This is not a regular book. It is a ring-bound collation of single-sided photocopied pages, much like a cheap user guide for a computer or something. It really deserves 3 stars at best, objectively, but *subjectively* I give it 5 stars because I too, have found nothing else like it on the market and I just love the minutiae of details that this publication gives you. I also give it 5 stars partly to encourage everyone even half-technically interested in the Apollo era to buy this tantalizing publication in the hope that it encourages the current publisher, or a competitor, to publish a *properly* bound book with *contemporary* quality scanned photographs -- perhaps the saddest problem in the current edition is the ~72dpi ~16-level grayscale "photographs". The line diagrams generally are ok, but the photos look like they've been faxed! Manage your expectations, but buy the book anyway. You'll love it!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Saturn V, June 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Saturn V - America's Apollo Moon Rocket (Ring-bound)

This is perhaps the best technical description of the Saturn V available in print. It is therefore worthwhile reading for anyone interested in the construction of the booster. For modellers it tells you what each of the moulded doors and umbilical connection points are on the kits on the market (such as the Smithsonian model available via Amazon). For historians it places in our hands an original text supplied to journalists at the time of the moon landings and test and preparation flights. The detail in the text fully underlines the complexity of the rocket itself, but also the launch and flight procedures. It cannot but enhance the appreciation of the engineering skills of the designers, builders and operators of the Saturn V. There are several problems with the book. Firstly the text is not consistently paginated - and it does not have a comprehensive contents page. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly many of the photographs, and more particularly the really important cut-away diagrams have reproduced really badly - this really does spoil the book's effectiveness. Finally, it would have been nice to read a history of the reproduced text, when it was first issued, to whom and by whom to enable readers to contextualise it. Otherwise a very creditable work and extremely useful.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rocket science at it's finest!, June 5, 2000

By 

Nick (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saturn V - America's Apollo Moon Rocket (Ring-bound)

My fondest memories as a young boy are of watching the huge Saturn V blast off and rise slowly from its pad. I was fascinated by Dr. von Braun's creation. (I was always worried, though, that the beast would blow up.) I read everything I could find about the rocket. The most informative stuff was in a Sunday newspaper insert which I think was sponsored by an Apollo contractor. I was never satisfied, though, and I was disappointed by the TV commentary of reporters like Walter Cronkite. Now, decades later, this rather unusual book by World Spaceflight News gives Saturn fans like me the chance to read the actual NASA reference material that guys like Cronkite had (but never seemed to use). The cutaway sketches and drawings of the stages and engines are incredible. The text answers many old questions. (It even describes the camera that took those famous nifty photos of the stage separation with the earth in the background.) Like the TV we had back then, all the photos are black & white, and some are a bit fuzzy. There are no page numbers, either. Overall, it is the best book around about the Saturn rocket, and definately worth buying.

It was a sad day when the politicians killed the Saturn V program. I doubt we'll ever see anything like it again.