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Bruce

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Does anyone have any recommendations on good books to read about rockets?

So far, I've enjoyed:
Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships by Canepa
Escape from Earth by MacDonald
The Rocketmakers by Wulforst
Ignition! by Clark
A Girl's Guide to Missiles by Piper

What classics have I missed?
 
"Appointment on the Moon" by Richard Lewis. It's about the American space program up to the launch of Apollo 11.
 
  • October Sky - Homer Hickam
  • Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy (A trilogy in 5 parts) - Douglas Adams. every nerd should know this book! We all know the answer [42], but what is the question?!
  • The Martian - Andy Weir
  • Getting Airborne; Vols 1 & 2 - Harry Higley. While these are books about how to build R/C planes, they have a lot of good "how to build with wood & balsa" tips & tricks & such. These might be very hard to find!
  • [a pocket guide to] Knots & Splices - Des Pawson. Everyone should know how to tie a Bowline. As well as the Alpine Butterfly.. Handy for shock cords!
 
If you want a nice summary of just about everything that has made it past the atmosphere, I found this an interesting and pretty quick read:

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From my "Digital Archive" . . . Almost 6 GB ( 367 files )

Dave F.

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Inside the "Astronaut Books" Folder . . .

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Inside the "Books-Assorted" Folder . . .

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Inside the "Books-NASA-Miscellaneous" Folder . . .

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Inside the "Books - To Be Sorted" Folder . . .

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Inside the "Space-Related Books - To Be Sorted" Folder . . .

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From my "Digital Archive" . . . Almost 6 GB ( 367 files ) ...

Are there a few favorites in there?

As for me, my only recommendations are the instructions that come with kits. I need to read mountains for work so I rarely get into anything else.
 
Well, if you're talking books about rockets, I'd recommend Stages to Saturn by Bilstein. It's NASA's official history of the Saturns and, so, a little dry reading. But very good.

For space in general the two must-reads are:

Apollo: The Race to the Moon by Murray and Cox and
A Man on the Moon by Chaikin.

Also see my short Space Review reading guide from a couple of years ago:

The Space Review: Apollo 11’s greatest hits and misses: a short reader’s guide
by Thomas J. Frieling
Monday, July 8, 2019


Note: As noted in the article, avoid Craig Nelson's Rocket Men at all costs. Full of errors. Same for Hurt's For All Mankind.
 
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October Sky - Homer Hickam
The title of the book is Rocket Boys. October Sky is the title of the movie (which is, quite mysteriously, a perfect anagram of the book's title).

I would put Hickam's trilogy at numbers one, two and three on my list.
 
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I'm surprised no one has listed "One Giant Leap" by Charles Fishma. Excellent beyond description.

Also "The Right Stuff" by Wolfe

We Seven By the Mercury 7

Any of Andy Weir's books
 
"The Real Space Cowboys" by Ed Buckbee and Wally Schirra is a good book about the Mercury astronauts.

"Challenge to Apollo" by Asif A. Siddiqi is probably the definitive history of the Soviet space program up to the N-1.

"Riding Rockets" by Mike Mullane is a very frank look at what it was like to be an early Shuttle astronaut.
 
I saw only one posting (in 2015) about this book. Looked like no one made any replies.

If you're interested in rocket fuel history - this book is a good read.

RocketGirl-MaryMorgan-Book.jpg
 
J.D. Hunley and Roger Launius have some fantastic histories of space launch vehicles that I cant recommend or read enough:
  • Preludes to U.S. Space Launch Vehicle Technology - Goddard Rockets to Minuteman (amazon) - Hunley
  • U.S. Space Launch Vehicle Technology - Viking to Space Shuttle (amazon) - Hunley
  • The Development of Propulsion Technology for U.S. Space-Launch Vehicles (amazon) - Hunley
  • To Reach The High Frontier (amazon) - Launius
 
Provided they weren't already mentioned...

"Rocket Power & Space Flight" - G. Harry Stine (What got me interested when I was a kid.)
"Rocket Propulsion Elements" - Sutton (If you're thinking about research motors)
"Back to the Moon" - Hickam (A fun read... Hickam is a great novelist on many subjects)
"The Motion Control System of the Legendary SCUD-B Missile" - Bodo Seyfert (I had the honor of working with this gentleman, and calling him my friend. Be forewarned... it's a mathematical analysis... not for the faint of heart)
 
Provided they weren't already mentioned...

"Rocket Power & Space Flight" - G. Harry Stine (What got me interested when I was a kid.)
"Rocket Propulsion Elements" - Sutton (If you're thinking about research motors)
"Back to the Moon" - Hickam (A fun read... Hickam is a great novelist on many subjects)
"The Motion Control System of the Legendary SCUD-B Missile" - Bodo Seyfert (I had the honor of working with this gentleman, and calling him my friend. Be forewarned... it's a mathematical analysis... not for the faint of heart)
That last one sounds like my kind of book but:
Best Sellers Rank: #5,136,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
 
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