The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography 1962-1972 [Hardcover]

RON SCHICK (Author), Julia Van Haaften (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA This title will excite novices as well as expert space buffs. The authors have carefully chosen exquisite color photographs of space and highlighted them with descriptions and commentary by the astronauts involved in the spaceflight. Some of the classic as well as new high-quality photos show man, the earth, the moon, and space in awe-inspiring detail. The photographs are not indexed, but are presented in chronological order by mission from Mercury 4 to Apollo 17. With the addition of the astronauts' comments, the book helps readers feel the mood and expanse of spaceflight. This timely subject will gather interest as new manned space flights begin again. Susan Penny, Houston Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1st edition (April 13, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517560828
• ISBN-13: 978-0517560822
• Product Dimensions: 13 x 10.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,303,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ron Schick was born in Miami, Florida and grew up in Chicago. After studying at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he became an editor specializing in photography and the visual arts. Ron has worked in art publishing for three decades and has written about photography for national magazines. Today, he is an archival researcher, designer, independent curator and museum consultant.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great and Interesting Book of Astronaut Photography, January 16, 2006

By 

John R. Keller (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography 1962-1972 (Hardcover)

As the title of this book suggests, it contains photographs taken by American astronauts during the first decade of manned spaceflight. While one might expect that a book which is close to two decades old (since this book was published in 1988) would contain many often seen pictures, the exact opposite is true. The majority of the photographs in this book are ones that are rarely seen and still retain their sharp image of wonder. Unlike many space photography books which focus on a specific topic or event like the Apollo program, this publication presents the photographs in a more or less chronological order. As a result, the reader cannot only see as mankind steps further away from our home planet, but also the improvement of the photographic techniques employed from the early days of the Mercury program to Apollo Moon landings. While most astronaut photography books focus on the Apollo program and to a lesser extent the Gemini program, this book contains many rarely seen photographs from the Mercury program. Ones I have to admit, I didn't know even existed.

The book is divided into two sections. The first part provides a brief overview of the space race and a somewhat detailed review of the development of space photographic techniques and the cameras used to accomplish these tasks. After this section, the book presents 16 mini-chapters with each presenting photographs taken by various astronauts during their flights along with their comments about each mission. While many of the astronauts featured in these sections have written about their adventures in space in their autobiographies, there are also chapters from astronauts like Pete Conrad, Ron Evans, Dick Gordon and Bill Anders who will probably never (or can't) write about their experiences in the space program.

Even though this book is out of print, it is still very easy to find, in amazon z-shops, auctions or in used book stores.