Customer Reviews

Spacechimp: NASA's Ape in Space (Countdown to Space)

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This book gives details about the training of Ham, the first chimp in space. Until now, a reader was hard-pressed to find details about this part of history. It's a poignant story. The writer says that a group of infant-chimps were taken away from their mothers in Africa, who were likely killed. They endured rigorous training before it was decided that Ham had the "right stuff." After his successful launch, no ticker-tape parade down Madison Ave., instead Ham was put on display in a cage by himself in the National Zoo in Wash. D.C. She ends the book telling the reader about Ham's eventual rescue to a sanctuary in North Carolina where he finally got to live his final years with other chimps. I hope the author does an updated version of the book telling readers about the new sanctuary in Fort Pierce, FL built just for the retired Air Force chimps, descendants of the space program.

If you are susceptible to falling in love with the wonder of space, of the bond that develops between humans and animals working together, and the pathos of a simple story, "Spacechimp" will be an unforgettable read...even for a grown-up! Children of all ages will delight in the wonderful way that authors Farbman and Gaillard bring sophisticated scientific concepts down to earth. The workings of gravity and related forces and phenomena are presented in simple terms that form a solid foundation for understanding the 1961 Mercury mission. No one will forget that astrochimp Ham's diet included strawberry gelatin and banana-flavored pellets! Photographs in full color and black and white complement the text beautifully. This book is worth reading just for a look at one particularly poignant image, taken by an automatic camera during a moment of peace while floating without the pull of gravity: spacechimp Ham gazing out at the intimate vast space just outside his capsule. You'll never forget it.