Not as thrilling as the movie... but what is? An educational and interesting book.
Summary:
In 1970, the Apollo 13 spacecraft on its way to the moon suffered a catastrophic accident. With the crew of three astronauts in jeopardy, hundreds of engineers on the ground worked tireless to figure out how to bring them home, turning one of the biggest calamities in the history of the space program into one of its shining moments.
Verdict: 7/10
Being from Houston, I grew up watching Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell in the film based on this book. The movie captured the scientific aspects and the personal stakes for the people involved in Apollo 13 very well. But there was only so much the directors could fit into 2 1/2 hours. The book contains all of that bonus content that space nuts want to know.
This account gave more background into past disasters that NASA had handled poorly such as the Apollo 1 fire and the politics of what this mission meant to the organization and the public. The reader learned more about Jim Lovell's past (how he became an astronaut, the work and home balance of astronaut families, and even how he had experienced near-misses in his work as a test-pilot and commander of the Apollo 8). And there were so many additional, little-known details like how President Nixon kept in touch with the families or how Jim Lovell lost 14lbs in those 6 days in space!
Those are just a few of the facts that I latched onto. There was much more on the scientific functions and puzzles the engineers had to sort through, which were explained well (not too lofty for a layman but still advanced and comprehensive).
All of that was interesting info, but it was a lot to take in. In-depth can often mean lengthy, which isn't necessarily bad for anyone that wants to know the ins and outs of one of NASA's most infamous missions. But I think I prefer the shortened Tom Hanks account myself.
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