Customer Reviews

Who's Who of NASA Astronauts

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

FROM: Autograph Collector Magazine-June 2002 edition
Collectors of space autographs looking for complete information on NASA astronauts and how to contact them will find Lee Ellis' new book "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts" an excellent resource. The book contains extensive biographies, space flight data and other facts for all 367 NASA astronauts from the first manned space flight of Alan Shepard to current NASA candidates. Of particular interest to collectors is a complete section of astronaut addresses. Arranged for easy reference, each biography covers personal data, education, organizations, special honors and full NASA experience.

I'm the coach for a local high school science bowl team. We have used the book, "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts" as the authority on
all of our questions about NASA astronauts. We use this book to create questions for the students and use this book to officiate
any dispute on a question about NASA astronauts. "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts" is a valuable resource for anyone wanting
accurate information on NASA astronauts. Also, I have used other
books about NASA astronauts and "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts"
is the least expensive.

Who's Who of NASA Astronauts is a valuable resource for anyone wanting concise and comprehensive information on the biographies of the NASA Astronauts. This book give personal data, outlines the events surrounding the NASA astronauts and gives the accounts of their space flights. People who would enjoy this book are space flight enthusiasts, students wanting background information on the qualifications, selection and application process to become an astronaut, reference librarians for their general reference section, speaker bureaus, autograph collectors who want to write to astronauts, schools and alumni of astronauts and business associates of astronauts. I have known Lee Ellis, the author of "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts" for many years. Over that time, he has demonstrated high ethical standards. The sources Mr. Ellis used in the publication of his book include personal interviews with NASA astronauts, information from the NASA history center in Washington, DC, the NASA website and various other news reporting agencies. I would like to reply to a comment given by a previous review and say that not all reviewers are aware of the principles and guidelines that must be followed in the publication of a book. I want to assure everyone that Mr. Ellis has complied with all the NASA requirements and conditions in the preparation of his book. I have talked to people of all walks of life who have read "Who's Who of NASA Astronauts." All of them have mentioned how much they have enjoyed the book and are looking forward to Mr. Ellis' next publication.

For me, this is a difficult book to review, because as one reviewer has already pointed out, most of the information presented in this book is available at several NASA websites for free. The NASA sites also include nice photographs, links to other NASA information and are continuously updated. In some cases, the information presented in the book is taken word for word from the NASA sites.

On the flip side of things, a book like this is readily available, portable and good for those you do not have computer access. Futhermore, the information presented on the former astronauts, especially those from the Apollo era, is not always available at the NASA sites.

In general, I'd say that if you are interested in owning and reading a book that contains good biographical summaries on all the NASA astronauts, this book is for you. If you just want a book for a quick reference now and then go to the NASA sites.

I've enjoyed reading about astronauts and their explorations over the years. I'm especially interested in the moon-walkers and this book does a fine job of detailing the astronauts lives and their NASA experiences. The author has done a good job of organizing the astronaut biographies which makes finding information much easier.

Honestly, the author has just spliced together all of NASA's tired old astronaut biography sheets which are available for absolutely nothing on the NASA web site. He could at least have updated them, as the information is dated to whenever NASA typed out each bio sheet. All of the other information that I saw contained in this book is available on the web for free or by writing to NASA, and I'm wondering if the "author" did anything at all in putting this book together other than assembling all the bio and fact sheets and giving it all untouched to the publisher. For the price you have to pay for this "book" he could at least have spent a bit of time deleting all the deceased wives and including children who weren't born when these bio sheets were written. I bet NASA are pretty unhappy about this so-called "author" profiting by simply reproducing word-for-word their freely-given information sheets.

Good comprehensive book but author did not update info that was already available before the book was published.

I have been a librarian at a high school for almost fifteen years, and never have I had so many students asking for one book! My school heavily emphasizes science, and now when the kids are assigned reports on NASA or astronauts, this is the first book they look for. I've had some kids ask to check it out purely for enjoyment, too...so much, in fact, that I've had to order a third copy! I highly recommend this book.