The story of America's space race with the Soviet Union and the scramble to put a man on the moon, by two who were there. Shepard and Slayton, both Mercury Seven astronauts, begin with a long, panting account of the Eagle's landing on the moon's surface, then backtrack to the beginning of the superpower missile competition in the late 1940s. They point out that the US at that time had no missile expertise whatsoever; the program was set up in Huntsville, Ala., by Wernher von Braun, the German missile genius captured from the defeated Third Reich. A German team constructed the Redstone and Jupiter rockets, but Eisenhower, who distrusted ex-Nazi scientists, eventually grounded von Braun and his German team—until the Soviets launched a basketball-sized satellite called Sputnik. The American public was traumatized by a 1,000- pound satellite zooming across its airspace, and von Braun got the green light to launch a smaller American satellite at once. After summarizing this early history, the authors turn to the later Apollo missions, which they cover in detail (Slayton was one of the program's masterminds), as well as the eventual Soyuz-Apollo mission, a Soviet-US cooperative effort. Interesting historical material is related in a hard-boiled style, complete with dramatic re-enactments, as if the writing committee—counting the folks who worked on the companion Turner Broadcasting documentary scheduled for fall, there are at least four authors—had decided they needed swashbuckling prose to enliven the material. Do we really need to be told that the countdown seconds to a missile launch ``fell like withered leaves''? Still, when its corny style doesn't get the better of it, Moon Shot has its moments, and it's quite readable and detailed. (32 pages of b&w photos, not seen) (Author tour)
Pub Date: June 1, 1994
ISBN: 1-878685-54-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1994
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Johnstown Flood was one of the greatest natural disasters of all time (actually manmade, since it was precipitated by a wealthy country club dam which had long been the source of justified misgivings). This then is a routine rundown of the catastrophe of May 31st, 1889, the biggest news story since Lincoln's murder in which thousands died. The most interesting incidental: a baby floated unharmed in its cradle for eighty miles.... Perhaps of local interest-but it lacks the Lord-ly touch.
Pub Date: March 18, 1968
ISBN: 0671207148
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968
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