5 comments about For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut.

1. Scott Carpenter and his daughter were "inspired" to write this book in response to Gene Kranz's characterizations of Carpenter in "Failure is Not An Option." Ordinarily, a "defensive" book is not especially interesting. Kranz accused Carpenter of having too laid-back a personality, and that he would be found laying on a beach, strumming a guitar and contemplating. Kranz biggest beef was a blow to Kranz's pride, when Carpenter essentially told the media that for a period of time on his Mercury mission, Mission Control, Kraft and Kranz did not know where Carpenter was...
   
   However, this is a well-written, well-paced entry into the history of America's space effort, and is fun to read "against" the Kranz book.
   
   My grandpa used to say that there's no such thing as a one-sided story. Getting so many different strong personalities to work together to get us into space was quite an accomplishment, and both these books (and others) help us understand the "miracle" that we pulled off.
   
   It was one of our nation's greatest and proudest accomplshments for so many reasons.



2. M. Scott Carpenter and his daughter Kris have certainly written a fascinating biography that is unlike most others I have read about astronauts. For starters, it is written mostly in the third person. I asked Scott about that recently and he said that was a decision by Kris to do that. I must say, it was risky to go that route with an autobiography. But from the standpoint of what the story was trying to tell, I think it was worth the risk since this is more then just a biography about Scott as it discusses his early life, his relatives and the early developments of the Mercury space program. As such, you get so much more here then just the life story of a Mercury astronaut.
   
   Carpenter's life was certainly an interesting one. Born in New York, he moved back to Colorado as a very young child with his mom while she battled the effects of TB (a battle which she fought for far longer then anyone would have predicted as she didn't die until after Scott's Mercury flight). His father remained apart from his life for the most part as he spent his childhood being raised by his grandparents on both sides of his family. A well grounded education, coupled with living a very healthy youth in Colorado produced a smart individual with the body of an athlete who could have done anything in life he wanted when WW2 provided him with the calling to join the military. Unable to see combat in the big war due to delays in his flight training, Scott's flying talents didn't get utilized until Korea when he was part of a P2V Neptune patrol bomber unit. Later, he became a test pilot until a lucky set of circumstances landed him in a prime spot as one of the Mercury 7 astronauts. But then again, that is still just the beginning of the story.
   
   Scott's Aurora 7 flight is told in the first person and it gives a full description of what happened in orbit from his perspective as well as discussing some technical problems that weren't fully understood until after the flight (such as a fault with the attitude control system on the spacecraft, which resulted in a higher fuel useage when operated in automatic mode). To me at least, this description coupled with information printed in other sources paints a much more accurate picture IMHO of what happened to get Scott about 200 miles off course then what has been described in other early biographies about the space program. It just goes to show it is always a good idea to get the story from more then one viewpoint.
   
   Not too much is discussed about Scott's work on the Sealab project (certainly not in the depth that Mercury was discussed). But it is mentioned since that more then anything seemed to have more to do with his not flying another space flight then what happened on Aurora 7 (read it and make your own conclusion). Scott certainly has a unique perspective among other astronauts from the Mercury days and it seems to me that if he were a lot younger and flying shuttle missions, he might make a perfect mission specialist, even though he could certainly fill the role of a commander or a pilot as well.
   
   Probably the most insight I got from this book was a looking into the life of a military family from the 1950s, while they were trying to raise three young children. Those readers who have been in similar situations (regardless of the branch of service) will probably recognize the situations where the wife tries to raise the children at home in base housing while the husband is off to some of the most interesting duty stations in the world and dealing with his own set of challenges as an officer in the Navy. It certainly shows that the plights of military families are by no means unique (and my mom had similar tales to tell from her days as an Army wife while Dad was off on TDY assignments).
   
   Throw that same family into the media circus known as the Mercury program and things get a bit more interesting. At that point the families that were hoping to live a private life, raising kids and serving their country got thrusted into almost a rock star status. They had more money as a result, but not every change was good and marriages tended to suffer as a result (Scott's marriage was no exception).
   
   So if you are just looking for something that JUST talks about an astronaut's experiences in the Mercury program, this book probably isn't for you. Granted you do get a lot of useful Mercury information, but in addition you get an almost complete tapestry on what made Scott Carpenter tick and the lives he touched. You won't get the cliches of "Duty Honor Country" either. We all know that astronauts are patriots, but the book doesn't rub the reader's nose in it. Probably the closest I can compare this book to in terms of other astronaut bio reads is the Neil Armstrong biography "First Man". But both books are unique in their perspectives.
   
   For the sheer enjoyment I got reading this book, I do give it five stars. I agree it isn't a read for everyone. But if you don't go in with any preconceived notions, then it makes for a much more enjoyable read.
   
   My own copy is the original hardcover, but the most recent printing of the book includes a special epilog chapter which talks a bit about a similarity of emotions that were experienced during the reentries of Aurora 7 and STS-107. The outcomes of the two were very different, but people who weren't alive during the Mercury program don't remember that there was a bit of public uncertainty that existed when Scott's spacecraft landed long with low fuel. Mercury control had more data, but the press and the general public didn't know much at all. Fast forward to February 2003 and a similar uncertainty fell over the public when Columbia didn't arrive at KSC when it should have and nobody knew anything until the first footage of its breakup appeared on national TV. In terms of the Carpenter biography, this epiloge doesn't seem like a good fit. But, by using one experience to shed emotional light on the other, it does help showcase what families of astronauts feel and experience when loved ones take the ride into space knowing full well that they may not come back alive. As such, it is helpful to get the family perspective as well.



3. If your reading the other Mercury books, add this one to the list.
   Getting the book basically for the shipping is a great deal.



4. Life at NASA is not always rosey. NASA experimented with different programs and each mission helpted to determine their research progress in the main mission to be the first to do things in Space. NASA uses young, ambitious people as guinea pigs. When my son Jeff had his first NASA job, he told me he was a glorified computer operator. They used his hard-earned experience at the University of Chicago to catagorize the information coming to base at Boulder, Colorado, from the flawed Hubble telescope. He'd spent years at Kitt Peak in Arizona (his professor getting all the credit) as a grad student in astronomy, and this task was important to him so that he worked for half-salary that year. Was his work appreciated? He was kicked out the door as soon as the Hubble was corrected. So much for job security.
   
   It takes pioneer spirit to have the courage for those experimental 'flights' Scott Carpenter and his colleagues achieved. He was the 4th American in space and the second to orbit the earth. In May, 1962, he made history in the tiny spacecraft 'Aurora 7' which malfunctioned in one of its scanners , forcing him to "overshoot" the expected landing site by 250 miles. This led to a lifetime of controversy.
   
   This book, written with his daughter, explains in detail this ill-fated flight which made him famous or infamous. He clears up lingering doubts about that flight while telling history 'as he lived it.' When things don't work out exactly as projected, it is always the main person involved who takes the blame for its 'failure' as in the case of Jeff, who is again on NASA's payroll at a Center of Excellence in Nashville for which he took tours of students to the Pasadena Jet Propulsion Lab several times a year. Now that phase is over, and it seems that his job is in jeopardy again.
   
   After Project Mercury, Scott went on to take part in Naval Sealabs as an undrewater explorer and researcher. From high above the earth to deep below the ocean, he has traversed time from one dimension to another. He is one of our greatest Space hereoes, 'Commander Carpenter and his flying machine.' He's endured quite a journey and paid dearly in his personal life. Re remarried in 1988 and had son Zachary.
   
   His fellow "Right Stuff" astronauts included John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, Al Shepard, Gordo Cooper, and Wally Schirra. "Journeys so perilous that farewells were in fact small prayers. 'Good-bye' is itself an invocation that God attend every step, and with 'audieu' and 'Godspeed' for that matter -- for speedy journeys bring travelers home sooner rather than later. And home soon is always good." Keep faith, Geoffrey.



5. Carpenter spends a large portion of this book refuting what Chris Kraft wrote in his book, "Flight", too large in my opinion. I did find his story interesting and I think he could of told his story without making specific rebuttals to Kraft. On the positive side, this book is a nice addition to my NASA library since it focuses so much on the Mercury missions, compared to the many books written on the Apollo program.

3 comments about Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man.

1. I had such high hopes for this book. The author states that she had unprecedented access to Richter's private and professional papers and that this would give the reader an in-depth view of Richter's life. Sadly, nine chapters in the author told me we were finally going to address his professional life after chapter upon chapter of vignettes of women in his life and their relationship and impact on the development of seismology. I guess I missed the subtitle that stated this was an attempt to place women in a scientific context with respect to the development of earthquake science.
   But far more disturbing was the author's use of supposition. She presents a whole chapter on her case for Asperger's syndrome as an explaination of Richter's quirks. However, carefully examination of her evidence shows a number of areas where she contradicts herself. Moreover, she spends an enormous amount of time discussing what may or may not have been Richter's ample sex life, including repeated references to an insestous relationship with his sister, which may or may not have occurred.
   Ratheer than coming away from this book with a better understanding of the meshing of the personal and professional life of one of seismology's best known names, we are left with the National Enquirer report on Richter's life.
   The only area in which this book shines is it's final chapter. In it, the author clearly expresses her love and passion for seismology. As an earthquke scientist and educator she has a long and illustrious future ahead of her, that much is clear. However, as a scientist she should have realized how much supposition, in place of fact, might rankle other scientists consuming her product.



2. In "Richter's Scale" seismologist and author Susan Hough presents the first comprehensive biography of Charles Richter, famous for developing the earthquake scale that bears his name. Hough's scholarship is thorough and well-documented, and it seems she has carefully waded through every scrap of paper Richter ever wrote (and he was a compulsive diarist). Richter was a pivotal figure at a pivotal time in the science of seismology, and no historian of 20th century science can afford to ignore this book.
   
   For the general reader, however, "Richter's Scale" may prove tough going. Like Richter himself, the book suffers from a split personality. In part it's a straightforward biography of Richter, and in part a history of the development of major ideas in seismology (at least those that touched on Richter's career). Hough presents extensive evidence to suggest that Richter suffered from some sort of neurological disorder, possibly Asperger's Syndrome (a mild form of autism), and that his interests swung back and forth from science to poetry with manic instensity. If you're primarily interested in the science, be warned that there is an awful lot of poetry in this book!
   
   On the flip side, the book comes up short on some technical background information. Although the book includes numerous photographs, there are no illustrations of seismograms (the squiggles that record earth movements following an earthquake). Chapter nine in particular attempts to describe the importance of the development of a consistent system for measuring earthquakes without maps, seismograms or even data tables. Unless you already have a basic understanding of earthquake science, this chapter might stop you dead in your tracks.
   
   Most of the science in the book is centered around the seismology lab at Cal Tech where Richter spent his entire scientific career. Hough considers at length (although somewhat circumspectly) the jealousy surrounding Richter and his extensive public name recognition. Although Hough provides personal background information about several of Richter's colleagues (particularly Beno Gutenberg), more general descriptions of their scientific contributions could have provided better context. Beno Gutenberg may not be a household name like Charles Richter, but the core-mantle boundary is called the Gutenberg Discontinuity by seismologists. Hugo Benioff is immortalized by Wadati-Benioff Zones, the descending seismic belts that mark subduction zones, and even make their way into freshman textbooks! These guys were hardly obscure.
   
   Books on the history of science that make a great read are either driven by a central idea (Dava Sobel's "Longitude," or David Lindley's "Uncertainty") or by a strong and colorful personality ("Degrees Kelvin", also by David Lindley). In terms of style, Hough has fallen between these two stools. It's as if Richter's intense and divided personality imposed itself on the book.
   
   You won't regret having "Richter's Scale" on your bookshelf, but you may not read the whole thing.



3. Charles Richter is virtually the only seismologist that most of us have heard of, but almost all of us know the name. What, however, was it he did, exactly? And even if it was important, why should we care about his personal life?
   
   Well, his personal life was strange, so the idly curious might be titillated by it. The first question, though, is more directly relevant: Until somebody devised a method of quantifying earthquakes, there was no way to approach any estimate of danger.
   
   Buildings (including not just houses and schools but bridges, highways, dams and power plants) could have been designed to be earthquake-safe without Richter. But the cost can be high, so it would be wasteful to overbuild where the hazard is slight. Underbuilding can be catastrophic. The Tangshan earthquake, as recent as 1976, may have killed 750,000 people. The Chinese government has suppressed the real cost. The 2004 Sumatran quake, on the other hand, which killed close to 200,000, was not so much a matter of building design as of monitoring and evacuation warnings.
   
   So Richter's Scale is a fundamental tool by which to manage our lives. He announced it in 1935. Amazingly, according to geologist turned biographer Susan Elizabeth Hough, many people think it is a machine, like a butcher's scale. It is not a thing but a concept to organize a database.
   
   It took an unusual sort of mind to work out the scale, one capable of holding vast amounts of (at the time) diffuse data, while also having the insight to pick out the relevant relationships among the facts and the application to grind out the numbers. The last was no easy task before the digital computer.
   
   Hough speculates, at great length, that the kind of mind needed is the sort of oddly-wired mechanism found in persons born with Asperger's syndrome. This is speculative, but Richter left all his personal papers to his alma mater, California Institute of Technology, so a great more about Richter's personal demons is known than for most famous people.
   
   Much of it is in the form of poetry -- real poems, with rhymes, regular meter and punctuation. Hough finds his poems somewhat lacking in artistry. That's a matter of taste. I would rate his poetry above almost any winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in the past generation.
   
   If Richter had Asperger's, and if it helped him to do significant science, it also caused him lifelong misery in his personal relationships. Although he wrote much, what he meant was not transparent. Hough has to make many speculative judgments, which she does with skill. Still, it is kind of creepy to probe that deeply into anybody else's mind -- if that, in fact, is what we're doing.
   
   Hough speculates that Richter wanted it done, otherwise he would not have left such intimate data in a public archive. Along with a collection of science fiction magazines going back to earliest days of "Amazing Stories."
   
   "Richter's Scale" is definitely what we stupidly call an "adult" book, but Richter himself, despite an "adult" lifestyle, was in some ways a Peter Pan of seismology.

No comments about Oppenheimer and The Manhattan Project: Insights Into J Robert Oppenheimer, "Father Of The Atomic Bomb" (Manhattan Project).

2 comments about I, Cyborg.

1. Don't bother. This guy is a systems and process engineer, a robotics genius - and a megalomaniac who thinks he does real science. Surprise! He went to do his experiment and discovered that there are rules to real science, like Human Subjects Protection laws. This is a guy who thinks that if you feed each group of 10 schoolkids a different breakfast for a month and find a 3 point difference in IQ in the group that ate bacon sandwches, that proves that bacon raises IQ. He mixes up his psychological, biological and philosophical concepts, mostly because he really doesn't seem to have much grounding beyond the logic of systems - and his own desire to become the first cyborg. That huge book, and 95% is "me, I, me, I" about his papers, his trips, his projects, his jobs, his TV appearances, his publicity.
   
   The experiment isn't much. Big deal, he implanted a small array of electrodes in his lower arm with some wires attached, wore it around for 3 months, connected it to a computer once in a while, and then he ran some simple tests on it, the most important of which, in my estimation, was making the virtual hand work at a distance by moving his own hand - a nice future worth developing for robotics working in dangerous environments, something that didn't seem to have occured to him. The part about sending electrical currents from his hand to his wife's hand was interesting, but he imbued it with semi-mythical power. My question is, does it count as brain-to-brain electrical communication if the nerve stimulation doesn't pass through the brain but only works in the arm and spinal column, or just the arm to the implant? Issues he didn't consider because of his limited knowledge in anatomy, neuroanatomy (he had to open a textbook at every step of his experiment), etc.
   
   I think cyborgs are coming, and I think neural control of objects is a good thing. I want to be able to write and make art from my brain directly, when that is possible, and would even be willing to volunteer to help along the way. But I don't think Warwick counts as the first real cyborg. He wasn't even the first implant - the first and second implants were done in 1996 by a group in Atlanta, headed up by Philip Kennedy (Science News, 1/29/05, p. 73). I think Warwick's effort was an engineer-being-a-science-dilettante publicity-hound's quick-and-dirty effort to grab a lot of ink and a Nobel Prize, which he thought to deny in the book - why bother to mention it if you're not thinking about it?
   
   Read the news stories about his experiments, they get to the point faster. Read his books about robotics, which is where his expertise lies, if you're interested in his real work and significant ideas. Read other people's work on cyborgs. Check out the good work being done with blind people and paraplegics by different groups, work that goes into serious scientific looks at what Warwick just played with. They just don't write self-aggrandizing books about things, they go through peer review first!



2. I would have liked to hear more of this experiment. From the writer experience, it appears that a body can be directly linked to a computer to do simple tasks like driving a wheel chair.

   The possibiliy of directly linking a computer to a brain as quite an exciting possiblity. I also agreed with the writer that it could be quite a blessing to many people that are incapicitated in some way.

1 comments about Invisible Rays: A History of Radioactivity.

1. This a rather sweeping overview of the history of radioactivity from its earliest scientist observers to the current status of nuclear power throughout the world. G.I. Brown is a British scholar, which, as an American reader, I thought brought an element of humor and internationalism to the effort that probably would have been missing had the book been authored by an American. While it's not perfect, I highly recommend this book for those in search of a nuclear history that isn't steeped in politics and ideology, incessant historical second-guessing, or apocalyptic despair. It is a much needed work.

1 comments about On Her Own Terms: Annie Montague Alexander and the Rise of Science in the American West.

1. I was unaware of Alexander until I encountered this book at the Smithsonian's gift shop. It is a well-written biography of an important figure in biology. Alexander was not merely the patron of two natural history museums at U.Cal Berkeley, she and her partner collected thousands of animal, plant, and fossil specimens for it over the course of decades.
   
   Worth reading for a portrait of turn-of-the-century collecting, science, and the role of an extraordinary woman at that time.
   
   The text does meander a bit at times in the time periods discussed in each chapter and it could use a few more maps, but it is otherwise well researched and well-written.

No comments about Leonardo's Universe: The Renaissance World of Leonardo DaVinci.

4 comments about The Sport of Queens: The Autobiography of Dick Francis.

1. Found this book in our library and was excited about learning more of Dick Francis. I did get lost at times when he wrote about the race courses, but it was a thrill to get to know him. It is not a mystery, but there are some questions he still does not know the answer to. He writes a book a year, and I could read 4 or 5 of his books a year if he could write them that fast! Nice read.



2. My passion for horses and horse racing was apparent even when I was a child. Dick Francis' books allowed me the experiences I dreamed of through his words. I learned more through his books than I could have anywhere else in the United States. It is said that truth is stranger than fiction, and Mr. Francis' autobiography is testimony to that! I now own a 5 year old (retired) Thoroughbred, and Mr. Francis' adventures are in my thoughts!



3. This book is a must have for any Dick Francis or horse racing fan. This was the first book of his that i have read and now i have all of his so far. What i was looking for was a book to tell me about this little known sport. Now i know a great deal about it. I'm hoping for a newer version to tell about what has happened since the book waas written. I read the older 1950's or 1960's print with the pictures of Devon Loch in the Grand National. That was what most intrigued me about the story and what made him fall like that. Like i said this is an excellent book and very informative!



4. This book was originally written shortly after Francis' retirement from racing. It chronicles his life in detail up to that point (1957), and all fans of his mystery novels will enjoy seeing the germs of his books in the events of his life. I won't give the really surprising ones away here, but an example is the story in the autobiography of Francis' experience flying during WWII. Readers will understand where he got the knowledge to create several heroes who are pilots. The only reason I don't give this book a 10 is that it is very early Francis--his first book, as near as I can tell, and the quality of the writing as a bit uneven. The edition I read (1982) had no photos--a terrific disappointment, but there were apparently photos in other editions, as Francis refers to them once or twice in the text of the book. Try for a different year! The end of the book is an addendum bringing fans up to date on his life between 1957 and 1981; I've ordered the 1995 edition hoping for a little more added material. If you love horseracing or Dick Francis' books, read this!

No comments about John James Audubon: A Biography.

5 comments about Chandra: A Biography of S. Chandrasekhar (Centennial Publications of The University of Chicago Press).

1. This book "Chandra" is a biography of Chandrasekhar, who is one of the most inspiring and fascinating scientists of Tamil Nadu, India and most certainly a famous scientists in the world.
   
   Chandrasekhar was famously called by friends and colleagues as Chandra. Dr.Chandrasekar is a cousin of Sir C.V.Raman who is also a nobel laureate (Raman effect). Nice to have a uncle in the family as a nobel lauraete to follow his footsteps.
   
   Both these scientists and the mathematics genius Ramanujam about whom I will review in a separate book review after the current book review, these there scientists are my all time admirable scientits from Tamil Nadu, India. While Raman and Chandra was genius scientists in physical sciences, Ramanujan was a genius of genius in mathematics.............
   
   Anyways, let me get to Chandra and his biography, this book was written extremely well by a Physics professor Kameswar Wali.........................................
   
   UNDER CONSTRUCTION....I am still workin on it...............come back later...



2. This is a story that begs to be recounted. A brilliant and shy young scholar from a conservative S.Indian family wins a scholarship to study Physics at Cambridge. He spends the few weeks at sea en route to England working on the Physics of stellar collapse. His results puzzle even the eminent theorists of his day, Eddington among them. Undaunted by his detractors, trying to adapt to an alien culture with its cold winters and bland, non-vegetarian cuisine, the young scientist plugs on convinced that his calculations are correct. Eventually, the much older Chandrasekhar gains international renown for his work and is honored with the Nobel Prize for Physics.
   
   The book is, overall, a chronicle of a great man's journey. He gains in stature and experience, but his fundamental character remains the same. Over and over we are given the same impression of Dr.Chandrasekhar by those who knew him as family, friend and/ or colleague. He is portrayed as dedicated to his work, dignified, disciplined in all aspects of his life, holding himself and the others around him to the utmost high standards.
   
   The books is more about the man, than about his work. Of course, his life cannot be portrayed without referencing his work. Wali frequently alludes to it but only as a backdrop to the various stages and incidents of the scientist's life. Wali's goal is to capture the essence of the man, and he has done so admirably.



3. A must read for any aspiring scientist in any branch of the sciences -- not just astronomy or physics. The book starts with a detailed account of his childhood and sheds light on Chandra's ancestry. Wali reveals the scientist in himself by paying great attention to every detail, and reveals to us the foundations of a genius in the making. An enlightening tale with very little scientific mumbo-jumbo but oodles of history. The book provides insight into the young Chandra's brilliance, and recounts a wizened Chandra navigating the high seas of politics in academia. As a countryman, I am enlightened and inspired.



4. Here is an account of the life of one of the legendary scientific figures of the 20th century. Chandra has often been compared with Lord Rayleigh and Poincare, emphasizing not just the manner in which he conducted research but also that he was a part of the same classical tradition. However, he was a person so private that very little of his life or his work is known outside of the scientific community. The book serves to remedy this. It is also worth reading because of Chandra's connection with names that have now passed into history: Hardy, Rutherford, Dirac, Bohr, Eddington, Raman, Heisenberg, Sommerfield, and even Ramanujan. The tales and connections are a fascinating read. I specially recommend the chapter on his wife Lalitha, a remarkable woman from a remarkable family. Wali's portrayal is both sensitive and revealing. His aim is clear, namely to bring to the public eye a man noted for his reticence and extreme privacy. Don't miss reading this book.



5. The book is an excellent document of Chandra's personal and professional life. It is the only such work available on the Astrophysicist. It could have been made a very interesting read, if it included a technical exposition(At least a Layman's version) of Chandra's work on White dwarf's, Black Holes, Chandra's own analysis of Newton's Principia and more. I mean a book on the lines of Robert Kanigel's "The Man who knew Infinity" which is about the Mathematician S. Ramanujan. I thought the author(who is a physics educator himself) who took so much of pains wandering in the undergrowth of Chandra's Lifestyle did not plough enough into his scientific theories, which would have made the book a great hit. But it does reveal a lot about Chandra's interaction with heavyweights such as Paul Dirac, Eddington, Pauli, Bohr, Born, Russel, John Von Neumann, Novikov, Stromgren and a host of others. I thought the research done in these parts were first rate. On the whole I enjoyed reading the book very much