Customer Reviews

Space 50

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By way of full disclosure, I should first say that I have a special interest in "Space 50." It includes, on page 17, one of my own digital renderings of the classic 1953 Wernher von Braun-Chesley Bonestell "moonship."

With that said, I am pleased to report that "Space 50" is an outstanding book that masterfully celebrates the first 50 years of the Space Age. Normally I am a little leery of such "coffee-table books," which tend to be heavy on pictures and light on text. "Space 50" differs from most in that it has an excellent balance of illustrations and information.

Here's a breakdown of what's in the chapters:

Chapter 1 (page 10)--"Kingdoms of the Rocket Makers" looks at pre-Sputnik space travel concepts from science fiction and popular science magazines, and then details the work of Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev in developing U.S. and Soviet rocket boosters.

Chapter 2 (page 48)--"The Race" looks at the early U.S. and Soviet manned spaceflight projects such as Vostok, Voskhod, Mercury, Gemini and the X-15.

Chapter 3 (page 92)--"The Altar of Apollo" covers Apollo flights up to 1968.

Chapter 4 (page 116)--"From the Earth to the Moon" is all about the Apollo moon missions, and also contains some good information about the development and flight testing of the giant Soviet N-1 moon rocket.

Chapter 5 (page 154)--"Islands in the Sky" features the early space stations--Salyut, Skylab and Mir, as well as the Space Shuttle story.

Chapter 6 (page 204)--"Unity, Zarya, Columbus..." brings the spaceflight story up to the present with the construction of the International Space Station (ISS).

Chapter 7 (page 238)--"What Now, Voyager?" looks into the future of spaceflight. Starting with descriptions of privately developed space vehicles such as "SpaceshipOne" and other commercial ventures, it delves into such futuristic topics as Space Shuttle follow-ons, a return to the moon and a manned expedition to Mars.

Chapter 8 (page 284)--"Robot Ambassadors" summarizes the contributions of unmanned space probes to our understanding of our solar system and the universe beyond.

"Space 50" is filled with hundreds of stunning high-resolution images, many of them in full-page size. Several are on spectacular double-page spreads of 12 by 18 inches. Most of the photographs, painstakingly culled from U.S. and Russian archives, have never before been published in book form. They alone are enough to make "Space 50" worth having, even without adding in the extra bonus of the detailed, authoritative, well-researched text. If you're looking for an excellent single-volume resource that tells the story of Man's spaceflight endeavors in an accessible, highly readable form, and offers the accompanying visual treat of superlative, well-chosen photographs, then "Space 50" is for you. It should even appeal to the "non-space-geek" reader. I recommend it highly to anyone with the slightest interest in the subject.

Illustrates what was the most amazing achievements in the last century, or even any century!

this a fine book with many old, rare picturs , intelligently done well worth the price.

Piers Bizony brings his considerable knowledge about the subject of space and provides great historical perspective while highlighting aspects that look into the future. The spectacular photographs add to the whole experience although the text could stand on its own. Bizony includes great annecdotes that well illustrate the background and current state of space affairs.