Disaster Strikes!: The Most Dangerous Space Missions of All Time
by Jeffrey Kluger (Author)
Twelve thrilling and terrifying space-mission failures, told by the bestselling author of Apollo 13!
There are so many amazing, daring, and exciting missions to outer space that have succeeded. But for every success, there are mistakes, surprises, and flat-out failures that happen along the way. In this collection, bestselling author and award-winning journalist Jeffrey Kluger recounts twelve such disasters, telling the stories of the astronauts and the cosmonauts, the trials and the errors, the missions and the misses. With stories of missions run by both Americans and Russians during the height of the space race, complete with photos of the people and machines behind them, this book delves into the mishaps and the tragedies, small and large, that led humankind to the moon and beyond.
Praise for Disaster Strikes!
* "A thrill ride punctuated with spectacular failures--but also spectacular successes." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "The [is] text versatile, efficiently functioning as a collection of short reads or a balanced, book-length narrative . . . Always fascinating, at times unsettling, and highly recommended for elementary and middle school collections." --SLJ, starred review
"Each compelling episode is crafted as a self-standing adventure, with an opening hook and a satisfying close, making this an excellent source for readalouds for middle-school classes as well as a pleasure for independent readers." --BCCB
"Kluger manages to combine suspenseful storytelling with scientific writing, showcasing the successes of the programs alongside the failures that ended in death or near misses for astronauts. Even students who claim that they don't like to read will find these 'you-are-there' moments totally engaging." --SLC
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Kirkus
A thrill ride punctuated with spectacular failures—but also spectacular successes. (sources, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)
School Library Journal
Gr 4-8--From the near-drowning of Gus Grissom and the loss of Liberty Bell 7's Mercury capsule on splashdown in 1961, to the emergency termination of a spacewalk for Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano on the International Space Station in 2013, human space travel has always been a risky, sometimes deadly endeavor. Kluger outlines 12 such disasters, including the tragic cockpit fire that killed three Apollo 1 astronauts in 1967, the now infamous Apollo 13 mission, and several less well-remembered incidents. The chapters offer varying points of view: for example, the chapter about the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion takes the perspective of schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe's students in New Hampshire and her family watching in horror from the viewing stand at Cape Canaveral. This makes the text versatile, efficiently functioning as a collection of short reads or a balanced, book-length narrative. Along the way, Kluger intertwines his narrative with fascinating details from history, in addition to the physics and health science of space travel. The author does not provide specific source notes or a bibliography, but in a closing author's note, he credits the online Johnson Space Center History Office, a source of much of the recorded dialogue between astronauts and ground control, as well as the New York Times' archive and a number of memoirs by astronauts. VERDICT Always fascinating, at times unsettling, and highly recommended for elementary and middle school collections.--Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA
Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JNF002000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Adventure & Adventurers
JNF025000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | General
Outer space
Exploration
Manned space flight
Space vehicle accidents
