Product Description
Rather than deciding whether or not to get involved in global sourcing, many companies are facing decisions about whether or not to apply agile methods in their distributed projects. These companies are often motivated by the opportunities to solve the coordination and communication difficulties associated with global software development. Yet while agile principles prescribe close interaction and co-location, the very nature of distributed software development does not support these prerequisites. Šmite, Moe, and Ågerfalk structured the book into five parts. In “Motivation” the editors introduce the fundamentals of agile distributed software development and explain the rationale behind the application of agile practices in globally distributed software projects. “ Transition” describes implementation strategies, adoption of particular agile practices for distributed projects, and general concepts of agility. “Management” details practical implications for project planning, time management, and customer and subcontractor interaction. “Teams” discusses agile distributed team configuration, effective communication and knowledge transfer, and allocation of roles and responsibilities. Finally, in the “Epilogue” the editors summarize all contributions and present future trends for research and practice in agile distributed development.This book is primarily targeted at researchers, lecturers, and students in empirical software engineering, and at practitioners involved in globally distributed software projects. The contributions are based on sound empirical research and identify gaps and commonalities in both the existing state of the art and state of the practice. In addition, they also offer practical advice through many hints, checklists, and experience reports.Questions answered in this book include:What should companies expect from merging agile and distributed strategies?What are the stumbling blocks that prevent companies from realizing the benefits of the agile approach in distributed environments, and how can we recognize infeasible strategies and unfavorable circumstances?What helps managers cope with the challenges of implementing agile approaches in distributed software development projects?How can distributed teams survive the decisions taken by management and become efficient through the application of agile approaches? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Welcome research on a hot topic
We cannot just rely on acts of faith by eloquent process gurus to help us define the adequate process, or set of practices outside of the agile sweet spot. Cold-headed, impartial investigation is required. Such research is generally not very easy to conduct; it is often qualitative, rather than quantitative, it draws more from social sciences than computer science, not easy to publish, not easy to carve down to masters' thesis bite size.
This is the reason why I welcome this volume on agility across time and space. Looking at how agile practices performed once stretched outside of the agile "sweet spot", for large projects and distributed projects, that is, the non-trivial ones. The researchers and practitioners who collectively wrote this volume have been examining without prejudice what works and what does not, and trying to get at the root cause, giving us another and better perspective on this fascinating wave: the agile software development movement. They confront some of the key factors in software development, which gives our field such a wide spectrum of possible approaches: size, team distribution, role of architecture, and culture. (Disclosure: I wrote the foreword for this book.) ... Read more

Product Description
The first spacecraft to explore the secrets of the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, and the void beyond Pluto, the Pioneer space probes have been the trailblazers of the space age, truly going where no man has gone before.

Emblazoned with the nude figures of a man and a woman, etched representations of our human form, the Pioneer generation of probes were aptly named. Launched into the inky depths of space, they were more than mere machines, they were humanity’s first emissaries into deep space. And the pictorial inscriptions that adorned the crafts embodied the hopes and dreams of everyone involved in the Pioneer program. They were our humble attempt to communicate with the extraterrestrial intelligent life we imagined the probes might encounter … they were our message in a bottle.

Perhaps the most efficient, reliable, and cost effective program to come out of NASA, the Pioneer missions are a shining example of how a small and talented group of people can, against all odds, pull something off that has never been done before. Indeed, more than thirty years after its launch in 1972, Pioneer 10 is still cruising into interstellar space, sending back data as it courses through the galaxy while Pioneer 6, in solar orbit, is more than 35 years old and humankind’s oldest functioning spacecraft. But despite their enduring contributions, the Pioneer project remains a footnote in space history, little more than a humble prologue to its inheritors.

The Depths of Space recounts the long overdue history of Pioneer both as a scientific and technological achievement and as the story of the exceptional people who made the program possible. This tight narrative captures the black-coffee buzz of full-throttle, deadline-driven production, the sharp, intense thrill of discovery, the pang of anxiety that accompanies looming danger and ultimate loss, and the satisfaction and pride of creating an enduring legacy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Mission Impossible
Mark Woolverton does a superb job of presenting the story of Pioneer Space Probes to the outer Planets.Pioneer 10 & 11 were "improbable" missions, starting late late and working after a 2-year voyage in the unknown regions of space travel.Woolverton accurately presents a description of how an unusually competant NASA Program Manager, working very closely with the Experiment Scientists, all in a hostile political environment, pulled off an exceptionally precarious "Mission Impossible".

To Boldly Go Where No Probe Has Gone Before...
'The Depths Of Space' is a story of two little spacecraft and a NASA research center that could. This book is not a dryly written documentary, but an engaging tale that encourages the reader to keep turning pages, to find out what will happen next. Like the story of Apollo 13, we all know the outcome. But it's the journey to get there that matters, and Mark Wolverton delivers.

In the early days of space exploration, all the NASA centers were focused on the "do-or-die" space race. Except the Ames Research Center. Ask anyone at the time and they would say that Ames might come up with an interesting idea in material shape, vehicle design, or even a heat shield, but nothing more exciting than that. Ames was quite happy not to be in the limelight, as it was "not given to flights of fancy involving outlandish ideas such as space flight." To Ames, space flight was viewed as a fad of the day, with no long-term future. There would always be a need for better airplanes, which was the focus of Ames.

Then Ames found itself reorganized, with a new branch called the Vehicle Environment Division (VED), dedicated to support NASA's space flight goals. Albert Eggers, an idea man, was put in charge, and put forth a challenge to his engineers at the VED: to design, build, and launch a series of solar probes. Eggers' deputy assistant, and a very capable engineer in his own right, Charles Frederick "Charlie" Hall was given the task to oversee this project.

Meanwhile, the Army and Air Force were attempting to get probes to the Moon before the Soviets succeeded. Their project was called Pioneer, and they were instrumental in launching Pioneers 0 through 5. The first five of these six spacecraft went out in a blaze of failed glory, but each one getting further than its predecessor. Pioneer 0's Thor rocket booster blew up 77 seconds after launch. Pioneer 1 launched two weeks later, edging itself out of Earth's atmosphere to touch the inner Van Allen radiation belt, then burned up on re-entry two days later. Pioneer 2 made it up a thousand miles before it met with an untimely death, the victim of pre-mature burnout of one stage of its launch rocket and the failure of the booster rocket to even fire. Pioneer 3 made it 63,000 miles above Earth's surface, discovering the second Van Allen belt, before falling back and burning up. Pioneer 4 made it the closest to its goal, escaping Earth's gravity and passing within 37,000 miles of the Moon before it was lost in space. After this the Russians landed spacecraft on the Moon. Pioneer 5's mandate was to be the first spacecraft to be intentionally launched into solar orbit, which it succeeded at. 3 months later it would pass too far from Earth for any of its signals to be picked up again.

After this the Pioneer project was handed over to Charlie Hall and Ames. From the ground up, they designed, built, launched, and operated the Pioneer 6 through 9 spacecraft, all solar probe explorers, designed solely to measure the Sun's activity. Thus began Ames' move from being a purely research-oriented institute to a contender in space exploration.

Wolverton follows this substory with the main focus of the book: the design, construction, launch, and operations of the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft. These were to be the first manmade probes to explore the reaches of space beyond the orbit of Mars. Having been involved in missions such as Hubble, FUSE, and MESSENGER, I can say from experience that Wolverton captured the atmosphere of what went on behind the closed doors of the Pioneer project (which really hasn't changed all that much 30-40 years later with contemporary missions). From the scientists proposing experiments (both in working with engineers and management to the interplays in dealing with each other), to the work of the design and development teams, to mission operations and the realities imposed on operating spacecraft, you are put in the very rooms with these people as they argue, cajole, and support one another in order to make these spacecraft a success.

Again, as with the Apollo 13 story, Wolverton captures the tension in the air as the science and operations teams watch with trepidation as their little spacecraft penetrate the asteroid belt, skirt the radiation fields of Jupiter, and in the case of Pioneer 11, dance outside of Saturn's rings (in prep for the two follow-on JPL missions called Voyager).

While no longer operating (Pioneer 11's signal was lost in 1995, Pioneer 10 was last heard from in 2003), these two little emissaries of our world continue to this day heading out deeper into space, on course to transition from the outer boundaries of our solar system into interstellar space. Each probe carries with it a 6x9 gold anodized aluminum plaque with etchings of our solar system and two generic "naked people", should on some off chance the probes be discovered by an extraterrestrial intelligence. However remotely unlikely that is to occur. Space, you see, is really REALLY big, and the probes in it are infinitesimally small, a mere few tens of feet long. Traveling at 2.6 astronomical units (AU) per year (where 1 AU is the mean Earth-Sun distance), it will be over 26,000 years before Pioneer 10 passes within 6 light-years of Proxima Centauri, and over another 6,000 years before it passes within 4 light-years of the star Ross 248.

Mark Wolverton pulls together all the above, and more, into an excellent, non-technical historical story that should be a "must read" for every space exploration aficionado. All it really needs now is a soundtrack.

An excellent book for the curious non-engineer
"The Depths of Space" by Mark Wolverton includes all the details for those of us who weren't born or were too young to know when these remarkable spacecraft began their journeys.Mr. Wolverton's tale shows the politics and competition between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Ames Research Center in the early days of spaceflight primarily through the stories of Pioneers 10 and 11, though without neglecting the other flights of the Pioneer series.For those interested in the history of NASA and spaceflight, this book is an excellent place to start.The Pioneer series of flights racked up a long list of "firsts", not to mention blazing the trail for JPL's Voyagers in the 1970's and 1980's.Pioneers 10 and 11 got there first, scouting ahead for the much more celebrated Voyagers a decade later.Mr. Wolverton's book is a solid first step in remembering the often overlooked and forgotten Pioneers.

Wonderful book on an interesting topic
The Pioneer missions were important milestones in the exploration of space. The book is a nice, concise and well-written history of the Pioneer program, from the early and unsuccessful probes flown by the military in the immediate post-Sputnik era to the trail-blazing missions to Jupiter, Saturn and Venus. All of the book was interesting, but I thought that the story of how Ames Research Center got involved in deep space exploration, the maneuvering to get access to the Deep Space Network, and the continued gathering of data from Pioneers 10 and 11 long after their primary missions ended to be particularly interesting and never before told. I wish that the book had been a little longer, with some more detail about the spacecraft and their scientific findings. Also the meager selection of small black and white photos is inadequate. But those are minor points and this book is a must-have if the subject interests you.

Nice book, emphasizing the human factor
This is a great book on NASA's Pioneer project (not only the well-known - though already half-forgotten - Pioneer 10 and 11 missions to Jupiter and Saturn, but the whole series, including the highly successful 1978 mission to Venus). Very well written and researched, by a very talented young author, who's definitely in love with his subject. As the foreword of astronomer James van Allen states correctly, this book is first of all `a tale of human achievement', i.e. the emphasis of this book is very much on the project as such and on the people that made it possible (and how they did it). Wolverton does pay substantial attention to technical issues and to the scientific results of the various missions, it's true, but I would have preferred him going into more detail on all these things, providing more data and explaining more of the scientific achievements. To my tastes, he spends too much time discussing `the human factor' and the adventure side of it. But then again, this is the book's explicit `mission'. It just wasn't exactly what I expected, although I enjoyed it very much (especially the story about the controversy around the famous plaque with the naked couple on it, and on the old DEC PDP 11-14 `mini-`computer that was still being used in 2000 to communicate with Pioneer 10). So, this book is highly recommended and a Must for space buffs. It's also a very beautiful book, solid and robust. It's a bit of a pity that the - not too many - photographs and pictures are all in black-and-white. You can look into the book (all of the pages, and with color pictures!!!) on the publisher's website. ... Read more

Product Description
This title of the Crafty Inventions series sees the space race gathering momentum as the Apollo program counts down to lift off. Artificial satellites Sputnik and Vostok are sent out to explore, the first 3-stage rocket, Saturn, takes off, followed by the space shuttle, Columbia; a lunar rover with wheels made from piano wire is let loose on the moon, solar-power propelled probes go ever deeper into space and Mariner sends back the first ever photos of Mars’ strawberry sunsets. Find out about the stars and space junk, then be a space engineer and construct an astro helmet, a star-gazing telescope, a 3-stage rocket and a moon mobile. ... Read more

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Imagine living on the moon. What would you eat? Where and how would you make your home? Written by a former NASA mission controller with firsthand knowledge of the space program, this intriguing book combines a vivid description of humankind’s race to the moon with a detailed vision of the moon as our next frontier. Dyson packs lots of moon science into this futuristic vision, presenting kids with key facts in many fields—from geology to engineering to astronautics. Actual images of the moon from NASA’s extensive files are paired throughout with imaginative yet accurate artistic renditions of how a moon colony might look. And four fun, hands-on activities make even the most difficult concepts easy for kids to grasp.

Customer Reviews (5)

lunar science for everyone
As president of the American Lunar Society and a teacher of astronomy (both at the college and high school levels), I love this book.In my high school classroom, I have a small library of science books students can take home, read, and review for extra credit.This book is a favorite (especially among my ninth graders).For a science book it is remarkably readable and instead of being a scattered presentation of random facts, it presents one topic thoroughly from several angles.The facts presented are top notch.The quotes from people who've actually gone to the moon add quite a bit to the presentation.All in all, it makes space science and lunar exploration approachable and exciting.I'm willing to bet that our next generation of NASA scientists will often list this book as formative in their childhoods.This book is bound to be popular with middle-schoolers on up who want more from a book than fluff.By the way, it's great for adults too--its presentation of moon rocks and lunar soil explained a couple things I'd been wondering about for years.

spaced out
I took out this book from the library for my kids, ages 8-16 but they all found it BOOOOORING!
I think the author, a former NASA bigwig, needs to be more IMAGINATIVE here!

Great for grade 4 to adult
I especially like this book because it is rich in details from past moon missions and full of science-based projections of future possibilities. The explanations are clear and the illustrations are great (mostly paintings). With NASA's late 2006 announcement of plans to (eventually) establish a moon base, this book is a great resource. I re-read it a few days ago when I had to give a "back to the moon" presentation for a Big Brothers/Big Sisters event at the New England Air Museum, and it provided me with some good points to help the kids to better understand this "far out" stuff that will be part of their future.

American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award Winner
As the author of this book and someone who always wondered if I should use my physics degree for something other than writing for kids, I am happy to share this wonderful news: A panel of distinguished scientists and journalists selected by the American Institute of Physics chose Home on the Moon to receive the prestigioius 2004 Science Writing Award in the children's category. This award consists of a $3,000 cash prize and an inscribed Windsor chair. More reviews and information about this book are available on my website.

Excellent book about the moon written for young people
Marianne Dyson's book gives a realistic look at the science of travelling to, and living on the moon.Her easy-to-understand style, terrific enthusiasm, and excellent knowledge of the subject make this book one of the best books about the moon written for young people. Let's go to the moon! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Apollo the Second Chapter
The pocket series from Apogee gets better and better. Project Apollo: Exploring the Moon, Vol. 2 is a concise summary of the later Apollo missions that were truly meaningful expeditions. When scientists realized Apollo 17 would end the moon program they started cramming science into every mission. The LRV allowed the moonwalkers to become lunar explorers, traveling miles around each landing site. Most of the photographs included the book are well known, but they provide visual highlights to each mission. Who can forget Young's jumping salute and Cernan's John Wayne stance? This is America at its finest.

Solid basic info on Apollo
This book is a great start to get to know what the Apollo Moon Program was all about. It's info-packed with drawings/illustrations and photographs. It's a solid introduction to Apogee Books' NASA Mission Reports series by Robert Godwin. This Pocket Space Guide, written by the same author, is of the same high-quality standard than the NASA Mission Reports. Great job.

So much GREAT Apollo stuff!
Not only is this Pocket Guide jammed with information, it's also got a great collection of Apollo photographs, beautifully reproduced. I'm really knocked out by the black and white ones Rob Godwin has colorized, like the panorama of Dave Scott working at the rover on the slopes of Hadley Delta peak. No Apollo fan should miss this book!
-- Andrew Chaikin, author of "A Man on the Moon"

Another WINNER from Apogee
This is Volume II of a three part series of guidebooks on the Apollo project.Volume I covers Apollo missions 1 through 10 and this one covers 11 through 17.Textual coverage is only in brief detail, in the first half of the book, but Mr. Goodwin deserves an award for his writing style.He manages to highlight mostly the significant events of these manned missions to the Moon; the exception being Apollo 13.The latter was fairly accurately dramatized in Tom Hank's movie by the same name, so the author saw fit to only gloss over that mission assuming most readers will already know the story and most pertinent facts.However, the other six missions are still reasonably well described collectively in only the first 19 pages, as each of NASA's succeeding mission objective became increasingly more complex.

I think the introductions to each of Mr. Goodwins Pocket Space Guides are the best part, and can be read in less than an hour or so.They are intentional kept quite brief, yet inject reflections of centuries old, man's quest (and struggles) for enlightenment through greater scientific knowledge, with some of the greatest minds who may envisioned voyages to the Moon, long before it was technologically possible.

The book's writing style held my interest, because it is both educational and face paced; a perfect blend for both the casually interested and die hard Apollo freaks.The material is presented factually, yet with a certain flair that the average reader can easily understand and appreciate.

The middle part of the book is just the factual accounts of each mission in sequence with little more depth textually than already covered in the introduction, only with many more statistics and time based information.

The last half of the book is a collection of color photos - several blended together on a single page - of all the lunar landing missions.Of course, most of these are of the "Right Stuff" Apollo astronauts, in portraits taken just before their missions, and while in training.Their are stills of their Saturn V rockets on the launch pad and Apollo Command and Lunar Module spacecrafts inflight.All photos are fine selections, uniquely representative of each mission, showing wide ranging contrast in lunar landscapes at or near some (not all) of the landing site.

The only criticism of this book is the physical book itself; i.e. its construction.The binding is a bit intrusive to the margins on each page and with sufficient flexing, while turning pages for best viewing, individual pages can become detached.Nevertheless, these books are very inexpensive and certainly well worth the price for the rich content of Apollo facts, photos and history they succinctly reveal to the reader. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

What an era!
As I mentioned in my review of the Apollo 11 book in this series, I bought this for the CD-ROM. The video documentary is excellent. It even features footage of the old tracking stations at Muchea and Woomera in Australia.

This was a great moment in the 'space race' and it fascinating to flick through the drawing and plans. The debriefing is also interesting...what were those fireflys?

Well worth your investment.

Key reference to a key mission
From the climax of the manned spaceflight program I go to the beginning, and quite a change it is. The heart of this collection are a series of reports compiled about every aspect of John Glenn's brief but historic flight, covering the whole thing in excrutiating detail-after all, no one had done anything like this before. (Gene Kranz is coauthor of one of them.) It even includes a transcript of all the air-to-ground communications throughout the entire mission, not something that could be done very easily for Apollo. Another key reference book for the true spaceophile.

fantastic
The book and CD are fantastic, especially at such a modest price.The CD worked for me without any hassle at all (I have a fairly recent Win98 SE installation, with nothing fancy.)The 60 minutes of mpeg on the CD areworth the price, alone.Reading Glen's mission report was reallyfascinating -- I've never seen that before.I'd have expected something alot more formal and stilted, but he's always been a nice straight guy.

Excellent in-depth look at first US orbital mission
If you're a space-junkie, you will definitely want this book.Included are in-depth technical drawings, the complete ground-to-space communciations log of the mission, lots of great color photos, plus aCD-ROM with official NASA video of the Friendship 7 flight.Find out whatmade John Glenn such an enduring icon of this century.A wonderful glimpseinto the early days of the space race. ... Read more

Product Description
In this stellar activity book, kids delve into the rich history of space exploration, where telescopes, satellites, probes, landers, and human missions lead to amazing discoveries. Updated to include the recent discovery of Eris which, along with Pluto, has been newly classified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union, this cosmic adventure challenges kids to explore the planets and other celestial bodies for themselves through activities such as building a model of a comet using soil, molasses, dry ice, and window cleaner; or creating their own reentry vehicle to safely return an egg to Earth s surface. With biographies of more than 20 space pioneers, specific mission details, a 20-page field guide to the solar system, and plenty of suggestions for further research, this is the ultimate guidebook to exploring the solar system. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

ehh.
Being a nerd, I was sure my 6-y/o would love this, since he wanted "space stuff."He never got into it.I forgot he had it until I saw it on the "review your amazon purchase" page.

Exploring the Solar System:A History with 22 Activities
I must say that this is a very well-written and illustrated reading material for all ages, not just for kids.

Solar System Book-Space Info
I bought this for my 6 yr. daughter.She's very interested in Space.It's a good quality book (no cheap paper). It has a lot of information from the past.First attempt into space they sent a dog.My daughter is very smart and understands what she is reading (or what I help her read).I would say it's more for 8 yrs and up (but perfect for a younger mature child). It has original pictures (not cartoon drawings) and is very educational for the whole family (if you are interested in learning about space).I recommend it for your collection.

An awesome choice for our star-crazy young ones!
In true Mary Kay Carson fashion, Exploring the Solar System : A History with 22 Activities isn't dumbed down even the slightest.Carson respects children and seems to grasp well what they can be expected to understand - which is often more than what they are credited with.As a result, her text is thorough and frank and can easily be read to would-be astronauts as young as 4 or 5 years.And the illustrative photos are stunning, the perfect foil for the text in capturing the imagination.From interviews with well-regarded scientists (including explanations of how they themselves became interested in studying space) to easy-to-execute activities to a very thorough timeline of space exploration, Carson has once again thought of everything for engaging our own little scientists.I simply cannot recommend this book enough. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (10)

More of a political analysis than a biography
I was truly hoping for more from this. There have been a lot of biographies in recent years on important individuals in the early Nasa years. In most of them James Webb is almost a shadow as he was an administrator and wasn't involved in the day to day operations of the astronauts and engineers. Webb's world however was still extremely important as it was he who dealt with the important political and administrative side of Nasa through the 60s. The problem with this book however is largely that the author is more interested in writing a book on politics than a biography of James Webb.

The problems with this book start early on. An example of the author's lack of interest in writing an actual biography comes in covering Webb coming from Oklahoma where he worked in the oil industry to Washington DC. It mentions that Webb was wanted in Washington in part due to his experience in the the field of law. The problem is that up to that point in the book the author has never mentioned once that Webb had any experience in law. I actually went back at this point in the book and tried to find mention of this but there is none. In fact the author doesn't even mention where Webb went to college or what he majored in. We literally go from Webb as a teen doing normal small town jobs to him being a pilot flying with Ivy leaguers in one paragraph. This is done in such a general way so we don't even really find out anything like what planes he flew.

It's very clear at this point that the author has done little actual research on Webb's life prior to Nasa. The book just hops from point to point with little connection between some of the sections. The author is simply interested in specific political moments in the history of Nasa in the 1960s and that is all he really wants to talk about. Webb throughout the book feels almost like a tool to get from one political or administrative battle to another.

Another small problem throughout the book is the author's own political bias. While not overpowering it's there enough to be a annoying from time to time. Early on in the book for example he describes how Webb was a Democrat. He then waxes on for several sentences about this was because of all the wonderful things that the Democratic party believes in. This happens off and on throughout the entire book. While never overpowering it is a distraction as here you are reading about something and suddenly the author goes off for a short bit to again mention how wonderful the Democrats are. He doesn't do a very good job of hiding what he is doing either. It leaves you with the feeling that the author doesn't credit his reader with being smart enough to recognize what he's doing.

In the end I have the feeling the author wanted to strictly write a book about the politics of Nasa and the space program in the 1960s. I have a feeling he was sidetracked by the publisher into making it a biography as they tend to be higher profile in this area and higher profile means more sales. Unfortunate as I think if it was approached strictly as a book on the administrative and political world of Nasa in the 1960s it would have been a pretty good book. As it is we're left with a book that is half of one thing, half of another and not very good at being either.

Interesting book but with author's bias
This is a great book in the sense that it is giving insights into the the political side of how Apollo (plus Gemini and the NASA centers) were run.There are a multitude of fine technical books on the manned space program so this one does a great job of filling the gap on the political and management side of the house.

What was a bit unsettling is how the author's personal politics kept popping up time and time again.After the tenth (and twentieth) time reading it, I was pretty sure that Webb was a Democratic who believed in the New Deal ideals that Roosevelt initiated.In summary, Democrats are good, Republicans are bad, and New Deal Dems are the best.That message came through loud and clear.Like the reviewer below, I wondered too if there were any errors of omission so that the author could paint history to best suit his personal views.As long as you keep that in mind, this book does deliver information not found in the standard Apollo histories.

One amusing part where the book shows how times have changed in the few years since it was written is when Webb is going to Congress to get the funding and he asks for $20B.The author has a footnote where he says that $20B may not seem like a lot of money today, but adjusted for inflation Apollo would be like asking for $140B in 2006 dollars.After the recent bank bailouts and TARP funds, $140B for a technological leap like Apollo seems like a bargain.

Fundamentally excellent, but....
The story of the political battles and management difficulties of the Apollo program has gotten short shrift in the overwhelming coverage of the technical aspects.This is quite understandable, but books like this are essential to covering the history of Apollo.
Regrettably, the wanderings into the personal politics and biases of the author caused me to suspect how much he might have covered up or eliminated as a historian, for personal reasons.For example, to blame the defunding of the Apollo program on the Nixon administration is extremely disingenuous, considering it was a Democratic Congress that refused to allocate the funds, preferring instead to shift the money to "problems here on Earth."
Similar issues throughout make this a history that needs to be approached with caution.For a reader knowledgeable of the real politics of the time, I'd give it 4 stars.

Great book, despite some grammer problems
Although Bizney's writing style is a little informal and sometimes grammatically wrong, the book is great in itself is great!

We've all read about the astronauts who made it to the moon and their stories. We've all read about the spacecraft that were used, but no one has really said much about how it was all put together.

Bizney writes about James E. Webb, the director of NASA at the time of Mercury, Gemini, and part of Apollo. He talks about all of the politicking that went into the space program, the struggles that went on behind the scenes and the flaws that almost ground Apollo before it even began. He discusses the problems with contractors and how the capsule and Saturn V were flawed at the start of the program, but eventually fixed.

This is a great read for anyone who is as much of a space nerd as I am and for anyone who wants to know how NASA works behind the scenes.

Behind The Gloss
At last its good to find a book which covers the politics behind any large government organisation, and especially one as large as NASA. This book complements the huge number of technology offerings on the early days of spaceflight, and then to the moon. It was interesting to see how NASA went through the various phases of an entrepreneurial company, and almost distructing, before re-inventing itself several times over.
Mr Bizony has made a good effort in trying to distill a large period oftime and a number of memorable events into a readable volume without getting too sidetracked in the huge undetaking of man going to the moon.
I have found this a good contrast to the Robert Godwin Apollo Mission Reports. ... Read more

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Evaluation of the economic impact that could result from the implementation and operation of Galileo in the presence of GPS. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

1918 Paris Gun
The book was very helpful to research I was doing about the 1918 Paris gun. It is the most authoritative and complete work I have found on the subject. The authors,G.V. Bull of McGill University and C.H. Murphy of US Army Ballistic Lab were uniquely qualified to write this book. German secrecy restrictions after WW 1 about the Paris gun made it difficult to reconstruct the design and performance of the gun. I found all of the information I needed to accurately replicate the calculation of the gun's range and flight profile of the fired shell. The book was sent from Aberdeen Bookstore. It was in perfect condition and had been packaged very expertly. I was very pleased with this purchase.

Fascinating Myth-Buster
Although stuffed with technical data, graphs and mathematical formulae, there is still enough lucid prose in this book to fascinate the layman. In the first section of this book, the notorious Dr Bull, and his co-author Charles Murphy, provide the most detailed look at the Paris Guns ever written. Not only have they examined hitherto unpublished material (such as the manuscript of the memoirs of Dr Fritz Rausenberger, the Paris Gun project director), they also deploy their detailed practical and theoretical knowledge of artillery to fill in those gaps not covered by any concrete (or paper) evidence. Along the way they dispose of several myths, and provide tantalising glimpses of what might have been (plans for heavier, longer-range guns, capable of shelling London from France; and a proposal for discarding-sabot shells). Add to this a remarkable collection of photographs and reconstructions, and one is left with a classic book.

The second part covers Project HARP, Bull's attempt to use heavy guns to fire rocket-assisted satellites into orbit. In the final pages, an artist's impression of Bull's projected 32 inch calibre Space Gun illustrates a retrospectively chilling forerunner of Project Babylon, the supergun Bull was building for Saddam Hussein (and which, to scotch any myths, was not the catalyst for Bull's assassination by the Israelis: it was his work on improving Saddam's long-range missiles that sealed his fate).

All in all, the definitive book on the technical development of the Paris Guns, and a must-have for anyone interested in the history of artillery.

Supergun review by a famously dead engineer
Supergun-obsessed engineer Gerald Bull co-wrote this book before being assassinated by Isreali Intelligence for his Iraqi involvement.Two thirds of the book is a study of the huge guns constructed in France during WWI. The remainder is a discussion of Bull's own HARP program in the early 1960s.The first part is accompanied by B+W photos, while the latter has color photos of the modern equipment & testing.There are also lots of graphs and technical formulae.Probably an important reference for anyone studying this technology. ... Read more

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National Security Space Strategy is at a juncture with tremendously complex changing environments, global threats, phenomenally successful/unsuccessful space systems, and a perceived need to change. Our NSS Strategy started fifty years ago with President Eisenhower’s two basic principles: Freedom of Space and Space for Peaceful Purposes. This community concentrated on three strategies to ensure their successes. The essence of the NSS Strategy, for 50 years, boiled down to acquiring the best technological solutions, locating them at the strategic high ground locations, operating them with the strategic and tactical operations in mind, and ensuring that the capabilities were sustained. This set of authors looked back in time; viewing our successes and failures; and, suggest a movement forward to stimulate a better understanding of the strengths of a NSS Strategy. ... Read more

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Traces the efforts of the United States to put a man on the moon, from President Kennedy's historic prediction in 1961 through the completion of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

REVIEW 1 of 3: Corona:NRO Reconnaissance Eye
Of the 3 books on this subject which I have so far read, this society press (ASPRS [ex-student member]) proceedings of a meeting (RAM, ed.), this is the most detailed and technical (includes geoid information (++)). Overall the best public book on the subject was also confirmed after aftermeeting with ex-DDCI Wheelon at LLNL.The appendices include redactedoriginal reports and some marginally reproduced space images (++).Day'sbook has a chapter on the Soviet Zenit program lacking in this book (minorRAM--), and Peebles' Corona book has more chapters on the human side of therecovery and process (minor RAM--).The most accurate picture can begained by having all three books (sorry, but more $ to Amazon).This bookrepresents rare original source material from cold war history.The bookalso has a pointer to the breast cancer X-ray ID which the NRO/CIA claim tohave released. ... Read more