America's Space Sentinels: DSP Satellites and National Security, by Jeffrey T. Richelson (TPB, 1999, $1.50- has brown stains (coffee?) on the book's edge)
1970 was the year the Defense Support Program started. By detecting the infrared emissions of missile plumes from 22,000 miles above the earth, the satellites could give first warning of a Soviet attack. Richelson attributes the DSP as the reason the US- Soviet nuclear standoff stabilized. In addition, over the the years, the DSP has also been used to detect meteorites, monitor forest fires, and even gather industrial intelligence. The author "puts DSP operations in the contexty of world events."
Flying to the Moon and Other Strange Places, by Michael Collins (small TPB, 1976, $1.50)
From his test pilot days to his voyages on the Apollo 11 moon mission, Collins tells an amazing tale. He also speculates on the future of space exploration, from the point of view of 36 years ago. In light of the landing of the last US Shuttle mission, his hopes seem never to be fulfilled.
Challenger, A Major Malfunction: A True Story of Politics, Greed and the Wrong Stuff, by Malcolm McConnell (HC, 1987, $2)
When the Challenger exploded, McConnell decided to find out what went wrong. "What he found was a startling story of turf battles within NASA, of contractor duplicity and dissembling, and destructive interference by Congress, the military, and successive presidents."
Prescription For Disaster: From the Glory of Apollo to the Betrayal of the Shuttle, by Joseph J. Trento ( HC, 1987, $2.50)
"NASA was a brilliantly run civilian space agency that presided over the greatest... technological feat in history.... But during the Nixon years a series of political, not scientific, decisions meant that NASA began to lose the battle against military dominance." Here is another view on the problems of the Space Program.
The Final Frontier: The Rise and Fall of the American Rocket State, by Dale Carter (TPB, 1988,$2)
Carter "gives an innovative, brilliant account of American culture and society during the Cold War", as well as "the key economic and technical role played by manned space exploration in post-war US capitalistic expansion." Space exploration, culture, economics and politics are linked to the feelings, thoughts, movies and bestsellers of the time.
A Man on the Moon: The Truimphant Story of the Apollo Space Program, by Andrew Chaikin (TPB, 1998, 670 pages, $2.50)
- with a foreword by Tom Hanks
- a basis for the HBO Miniseries Event, "From the Earth to the Moon"
"Based on interviews with twenty three moon voyagers, as well as those who struggled to get the program moving... Chaikin conveys every aspect of the missions..."
**and for trivia lovers**
The Space Program Quiz and Fact Book, by Timothy B. Benford ( HC, 1985, $2.50)
Lots of facts, appendixes, a glossary, 50 photos and an index. What more could you want? Mike Collins, the astronaut author above, writes, "This is a fun book, but it's also instructive. I learned a lot from it". If he could learn something from this book, then so can we.
Look for these books on the new non-fiction table.
