This superbly designed and lavishly illustrated book marks a special moment in history: the final mission of the space shuttle. Noted space and science author, Piers Bizony, has put together a retrospective that covers all 134 space shuttle missions, including the final flight of the shuttle, which is scheduled for September 2010. In addition to covering every space shuttle mission, the book also covers the development and design of the space shuttle, as well as the technical specifications of the vehicle and details of its major assemblies and subassemblies. A full double-gatefold provides a large-scale technical drawing of the space shuttle.
Piers Bizony has written about science, aerospace, and cosmology for a wide variety of magazines. His previous books include The Rivers of Mars (shortlisted for the NASA/Eugene M. Emme Award for Astronautical Writing). His most recent book is One Giant Leap, a celebration of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Bookviews by Alan Caruba
."..a classic coffee table book, 10.5 x 11.25, 300 pages and filled with 900 color photos. In short, the perfect Christmas gift for someone who is an enthusiast for life and travel in outer space. In the 1980s, on assignment, I had the opportunity to visit the John F. Kennedy Space Center and tour the site where rockets and space shuttles were launched. I saw a shuttle up close and that is to say I saw a vehicle that was the size of a small building and marveled that it could be lifted beyond Earth's gravity to circle the planet. One can only marvel at the courage of the crews that went aloft and the scientific and technological mastery that made it possible. This book is a keeper!"