Book Description
While Chicago has the second-largest Mexican population among U.S. cities, relatively little ethnographic attention has focused on its Mexican community. This much-needed ethnography of Mexicans living and working in Chicago examines processes of racialization, labor subordination, and class formation; the politics of nativism; and the structures of citizenship and immigration law. Nicholas De Genova develops a theory of “Mexican Chicago” as a transnational social and geographic space that joins Chicago to innumerable communities throughout Mexico. “Mexican Chicago” is a powerful analytical tool, a challenge to the way that social scientists have thought about immigration and pluralism in the United States, and the basis for a wide-ranging critique of U.S. notions of race, national identity, and citizenship.
De Genova worked for two and a half years as a teacher of English in ten industrial workplaces (primarily metal-fabricating factories) throughout Chicago and its suburbs. In Working the Boundaries he draws on fieldwork conducted in these factories, in community centers, and in the homes and neighborhoods of Mexican migrants. He describes how the meaning of “Mexican” is refigured and racialized in relation to a U.S. social order dominated by a black-white binary. Delving into immigration law, he contends that immigration policies have worked over time to produce Mexicans as the U.S. nation-state’s iconic “illegal aliens.” He explains how the constant threat of deportation is used to keep Mexican workers in line. Working the Boundaries is a major contribution to theories of race and transnationalism and a scathing indictment of U.S. labor and citizenship policies.
Book Description
A revelatory look at the U.S. Government's plan to put weapons in outer space, by two bestselling experts.
"During the early portion of the twenty-first century, space power will also evolve into a separate and equal medium of warfare….The emerging synergy of space superiority with land, sea, and air superiority will lead to Full Spectrum Dominance."—from "U.S. Space Command Vision for 2020"
When most of us think about the potential of outer space for future generations, we think of world communications, satellite navigation, and scientific exploration. U.S. Space Command, however, thinks about weapons. Believing that conflict in space and wars fought from space are inevitable, the president has called on the agency to weaponize outer space and thus provoke an arms race that could cost the United States trillions of dollars and could lead to the demise of the human race.
In War in Heaven, a Nobel Prize-nominated peace activist and a former U.S. foreign service officer (who helped write the Outer Space Treaty of 1967) look at the history of military uses of space and the current plans for "militarizing the heavens," including kinetic, laser, nuclear bombardment, and anti-satellite weapons. Contrary to the claims of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that the United States faces a "space Pearl Harbor," Caldicott and Eisendrath show that the United States itself is today the principal obstruction to passage of an international treaty banning weapons from outer space.
At a time when plans to build and deploy space weapons are on the administration's agenda but only just becoming known to the general public, this book will help launch a national discussion of a critical issue.
Customer Reviews:
A Well Done anti-Bush Polemical.......2007-04-05
This book is a history of the military uses of space, the treaties that exist about space, and the development of space oriented weapons. It is also a plea that we not militarize space. It is well written, well intended, well thought out but I'm afraid pointless.
Mankind has militarized everything. First the land, then the sea, then the air, next orbiting space based weapons systems and then the moon. And I have to say that I'm not so sure just where I personally stand on this.
One of the points made by the authors is that more money should be spent on foreign economic aid and situations like the aftermath of Katrina. This is going to be a hard sell. Most people believe that money given to foreign aid winds up in the hands of the local politicians and is not really helpful to the intended people. Money to the Katrina victums is one thing. Rebuilding New Orleans is an entirely different matter. It's a stupid place to build a city, the French knew it when the laid it out, which is why the French quarter remained dry. With rising sea waters from Global Warming, a rebuilt New Orleans is another disaster waiting to happen.
This book presents the side of the anti-weapon, anti-Bush (Eisendrath has also written: Bush League Diplomacy: How the Neoconservatives Are Putting the World at Risk) people. I think they have a hard sell before them
Book Description
The Earth is only a tiny cell within the body of the universe. There are billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars; we call our star – the Sun. One can only wonder what other names were given to the billions of suns out there. One wonders how many billions of planets support life, as we know it, or lives beyond our imagination.
"Where the suns shine there is life" - reads the inscription on a circular bronze object dated 1122 - 1236 BCE (Chou Dynasty). Even though time is the greatest enemy of history, from which a huge chunk is missing, still there is enough information to put the jigsaw puzzle together. The ancient scriptures of many cultures, the artifacts, the paintings, and prehistoric cave art provide an abundance of proof. What about the stories passed on from generation to generation of the ancient tribes? How on Earth did so called primitive people from the Dogon tribe know and worship for thousands of years the visitors from the distant star that was only "discovered" decades ago. All of the above and more open the pages of a book filled with overwhelming evidence, that the planet Earth was visited by super intelligent extraterrestrial races since the beginning of times. The ancients knew it, saw it, and some could even explain it, all those magical encounters, unbelievable technology, amazing and unfamiliar appearances of the visitors, beguiling those who witnessed, they saw a glorious mighty power and worshipped it. The god has arrived! The stories multiplied and changed with the speed of light. Some ancients worshipped the Sun - the life giver, it literally is. I wonder where from they got that accurate information?! Hmm.... It is a fact that the star started it all and sustained it for billions of years. We are all so different; the human people, the alien people, all of the animal and plant kingdom, the planets, the stars, the objects around us, all so different in appearance, yet, all made practically of the same. We are and everything else visible and invisible truly the stardust. We are one.
With all the information that is available, how ignorant it would be to think that the Earth is the only planet in the infinite universe that contains life. If it could happen here, it could and did happen on countless other planets, we just didn't find them yet. They found us instead.
Not so long ago the belief was that Earth is the center of the universe, flat as a pancake supported by giant turtles. It is laughable now, but then, if anyone would try to question that ludicrous theory, one would die by the sadistic and brutal hand of the church. Millions forced to die in agony, in the fire of hate, ignorance and lie. Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), one of the most brilliant and progressive minds of his time, was one of the many to die for the truth. If only a few like Giordano were given a chance to live, think and speak out then... our world would most probably be a better place now.
The humans should learn from history, so not to repeat the same shameful mistakes, but do they?! Instead of creating wonders, the human mind is capable of, they savagely kill each other for money, oil, power, or land, which gets destroyed day by day, polluting the air, flattening the rain forests, contaminating the water etc... And after all this, they call themselves civilized. The human species have yet far to go to earn this title, and then maybe they will be ready for acceptance by an intergalactic community. Yes, the humans are still a primitive species, but one can't be too hard on them, as they are only in their infancy; some only a few hours in life, some weeks or months, in a cosmic scale. The advanced ones don't get burned at the stake anymore, but they suffer for the truth, by being ridiculed and sometimes even silenced. Who knows how long it will take for the human species to face the truth, decades, centuries, millennia, that is, if they don't destroy one other in the mean time.
Maybe with ETs intervention the humans will learn how to live in harmony with each other and nature. After all, everything and everyone is interconnected in the universe. One day, when the humans are fully grown, they will reach the distant worlds and maybe even help some beginners of the cosmic family and become a contributing factor in their development, as we were helped once by our star cousins back in a distant past. Then we will become the gods, but for now the humans are still in their nappies. Well, one has to crawl before one walks, running and flying comes later, much later. Despite it all, look what the humans achieved in only the last 100 years and the possibilities lying ahead.
Imagine other civilizations which are thousand or even millions of years older than ours! What are they capable of? Growing artificial planets? Creating the atmosphere in a world where there's none? Defying gravity? Finding cosmic shortcuts and traveling from star to star which are light-years apart? Living in peace???
So it's best to leave all these questions open and just wonder...
...And that is where this book takes you, the compendium to introduce the others, ET beings, those who came down and have gone, those who came down and stayed and those who are yet to come. This book offers a unique perspective to the wondering ones, those with an open mind, heart and soul.
Customer Reviews:
An Important Reference Book with a Metaphysical Perspective.......2007-01-27
There is a lot that can be said about this book, both good and bad.
The english translation is not great, with numerous instances of odd grammar and usage and occasional spelling errors. The information in the book is stuff I came across during the nineties when I was more actively involved with interviewing abductees/experiencers/contactees, reading the UFO literature (including some channeled information), and researching the UFO contact phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, all in an effort to determine the number of different alien races interacting with out planet, what they look like, and how they relate to each other. Having a book like this fifteen years ago might have saved me some leg work. However, it is important that the information in Waeber's book not be taken too literally, as it contains some internal contradictions, as well as apparent contradictions with established science in subjects such as biology, physics and planetary history.
The source material for the book is varied and that may be part of the reason for the seeming inconsistencies, as many different systems of nomenclature have emerged for trying to classify the intelligences behind UFOs. The book contains references to contact cases described in the UFO literature, such as Riley Martin's "The Coming of Tan" and Phillip H. Krapf's "The Contact Has Begun," but especially noticeable is a heavy reliance on channeled information, which cannot be corroborated, except in the sense that many different channels seem to get similar information, pointing perhaps to a common source, possibly connected with the intelligence behind the physical phenomenon of UFOs, but without offering us a means of determining veracity.
The book contains several nice pieces of artwork by Yeva, but the printing quality is mediocre and only the cover image is in color. I would have liked to see illustrations for the numerous alien races that are briefly described in the text, as well as for the various stories about alien bases, alien homeworlds and galactic history. However, to do a thoroughly illustrated version of this book would have been a much greater undertaking. If you want a similar book (although without the metaphysical bent) with more illustrations, I would recommend Ronald D. Story's "The Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters."
With its metaphysical perspective, this book is in a similar vein to Lyssa Royal's "The Prism of Lyra" and "Visitors From Within." As such, it stimulates thought and is really an essential overview of extraterrestrial races, or at least of the lore that has built up about them. I am grateful that someone has finally taken the time to assemble and publish a book like this. (I know of efforts to do a project like this in the nineties but those did not come to fruition.) I recommend Rolf Waeber's book to any serious student of the UFO phenomenon, but with the caveat that you also consider other approaches to the question of "Who is Who" among our visitors.
Incredible amount of information.......2006-08-14
I absolutely disagree with the hate review below by NJ Pinney. Without at least some knowledge concerning extraterrestrials ( modern / ancient ) this book might be perceived by a few readers as somewhat science fictional, but its not. It contains an incredible amount of information, some obviously from a metaphysical viewpoint. I don't think this book is meant to be an easy read, after all it is a catalog, all in alphabetical order, refreshingly accompanied by fascinating alien art and poems. If the reader is not familiar with Ezekiels encounter with "god", unfortunately that poem wouldn't make much sense. The whole biblical event from a ufological perspective. Outstanding! "An Overview of Extraterrestrial Races" is simply a must have for any ET enthusiasts, to have an open mind would be helpful.
Sam Dylaney
Chicago, Ill.
Caveat emptor.......2006-05-19
Be warned about this book. It is a book of lists. It has lists of alien races, starships, mother ships by name, etc. It also includes some radical new ideas about the Bilderbergers and the United States. BUT it does not attach reference sources for any of this information. It leaves much doubt of the authenticity even of the whole book. The author invites feedback so here goes.
When I see something so extreme as this, and if it is scholarly and it covers its bases with reference sources, I am delighted. But with this my hunch says maybe disinformation. Say it's science fiction; then it's okay.
The translation is poor, frequently avoiding idiomatic English. The typesetting is poor with paragraphs neither indented nor line spaced making it a chore to read. The artwork and the poetry is poor. The author uses an arrow at the beginning of some lines with no explanation.
The author is Swiss and I had always thought the Swiss had systematic ways of doing things--but not here. If the author had taken a fraction of his list names and attached references and a bit more of explanatory text and footnotes it might have been a valuable reference--but alas not.
Under the Amazon star rating system, it allows one star as the lowest rating, which I gave it. I would have prefered to give it no star or a black hole instead. This is the first time I have ever thrown a book into the trash. I would not even want to give it away to anyone I respect.
great reference source.......2006-04-09
A life time of research has created the most comprehensive compilation of ET information I've come across.A must have for all those who think outside the box. Jean O'Hara
Extraterrestrial Races, Who is Who.......2006-03-21
This compendium is an excellant resource. I found it quite extensive and informative. I actually found it quite amazing that all this information is known but is officially ignored. For anybody with an interest in the other inhabitants of our universe this book is a must have. I also found the art to be very compelling and wished there was more.
Book Description
In
The Crack in Space, a repairman discovers that a hole in a faulty Jifi-scuttler leads to a parallel world. Jim Briskin, campaigning to be the first black president of the United States, thinks alter-Earth is the solution to the chronic overpopulation that has seventy million people cryogenically frozen; Tito Cravelli, a shadowy private detective, wants to know why Dr Lurton Sands is hiding his mistress on the planet; billionaire mutant George Walt wants to make the empty world all his own. But when the other earth turns out to be inhabited, everything changes.
Winner of both the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards for best novel, widely regarded as the premiere science fiction writer of his day, and the object of cult-like adoration from his legions of fans, Philip K. Dick has come to be seen in a literary light that defies classification in much the same way as Borges and Calvino. With breathtaking insight, he utilizes vividly unfamiliar worlds to evoke the hauntingly and hilariously familiar in our society and ourselves.
Customer Reviews:
Dick plays it straight in this one.......2005-03-30
After passing the half-way point in this book, I began anticipating the traditional "Dick-twist". You know, the part where the book takes an extremely unexpected and bizarre twist and the story you thought you were reading is completely changed. Take, for example, the LSD dart in "Lies Inc", or the "grubbish" from Martian Time-Slip.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't go that way with this one, and instead gives us a story with a reasonable beginning, middle, and end. The book starts as many do- Dick presents us with the usual large cast of amusing and seemingly independent characters, that eventually become completely interwoven with each other. The plot- a hole in a "Jifi-Scuttler" turns out to be a door to a parallel Earth (of course we never learn just what a "Jifi-Scuttler" is supposed to do normally), long after our Earth has been crowded past maximum capacity.
I don't need to tell you any more than that. Dick gives us a wonderful, entertaining premise for a science fiction story, and then tells us that story from beginning to end, complete with the usual hilarious Dick ideas and character dialogue.
I recommend this one 110% for any Dick fan. The only reason The Crack in Space gets 4 stars is because it's just a shade below his obvious 5-star classics that every Dick fan is already aware of. 4.5 - 4.75 stars would be more appropriate, if Amazon allowed such ratings.
Lesser Dick.......2004-06-07
The recurrence of the theme of the discovery of living ancient ancestors in modern times, as in Dick's The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike and The Simulacra, suggests a symbolic incursion into modern consciousness of the buried, primitive self. But despite flashes of the author's characteristic humor, The Crack in Space is substandard PKD. It relies on routine political intrigue and a meandering plot without compelling characters. Except for Jim Briskin, the first black man ever to run for president, there seem to be none who are not mired down in petty, personal, materialistic concerns. This novel also lacks both the themes of the problematical marriage and the breakthrough to a higher reality that mark much of Dick's best work. Probably only those who have read just about everything else Dick wrote need seek this one out.
SF NOVELS OPUS EIGHTEEN.......2001-08-14
CRACK IN SPACE is, in my opinion, a minor effort in Philip K. Dick's career. One will find in it good ideas but scarcely developed.
Later in the 21st century, the world population can decide to be cryogenized in order to quit for a while a society dealing with an endemic unemployment. Those who choose this solution are stocked in piles waiting for a better day. In the meantime, Jim Briskin, the black candidate to the U.S. presidential election, needs desperately new political ideas to gather votes. Incidentally, a little hole that has appeared in a translator seems to lead into a new world and could be the long-awaited solution to the cryogenized people problem.
Well, one recognizes in CRACK IN SPACE some of Dick's themes as the emergence of an unknown world that defies the intelligence of politicians and scientists. But don't forget that a "new world" in Philip K. Dick's terminology is not a world that suddenly appears light years away from the Earth, it's rather a world that is close to us, so close in fact that this world often exists in the mind of the characters only.
In short, if you want to make an agreeable trip through Philip K. Dick's main obsessions, you may enjoy CRACK IN SPACE but if you still don't know this writer , try UBIK or BLADE RUNNER first.
A book for Dick's fans only.
One of the best........1998-01-28
PK out did him self with this one. He put all of his reality into just about 10 pages and then expanded it to make a well detailed novel with just the right amount of character development. This book reads like a suspense movie. You are left sitting on the edge of your seat while reading page after page. To put it mildly there really should be no ending. It leaves you like a drug leaves you and you go into withdrawls until you either pick up the book to re-read or start looking for a substitute for such a good story to fill the void. I would say that this book ranks high than any other Dick book out there with the exception of Scanner Darkly and even then they are still very close to each other. If I left your mouths watering, good. They should have been watering in the first place. Dick has proven to have out done him self on multiple occasions after his death now find the book and charish it. You may have to search for it in every used book store in every town you come to. It is worth it. I was lucky and stumbled across it with out knowing how much it was worth.
Amazon.com
That "Geno" Cernan was commander of Apollo 17, the final manned moon mission, was a fitting conclusion to a flying career that included two previous stints in space (Gemini 9 and Apollo 10). His frank, earthy memoir of his years at NASA adds another entertaining, informative volume to the burgeoning shelf of books illuminating the inner workings of the space program and the people who made it happen. Coauthor Don Davis, a veteran journalist, helps Cernan craft a colloquial prose style that nicely captures the competitive, macho personality that seemed virtually mandatory for astronauts in the 1960s and '70s. Cernan candidly depicts the reckless streak that twice led to needless injuries jeopardizing his spot on a mission. He also acknowledges the stresses endured by his ex-spouse Barbara as she struggled to be the perfect astronaut wife--cheerful and uncomplaining for the cameras while he experienced all the fun and adventure of the job. And it sure was fun, as becomes clear in the exciting descriptions of his spacewalk from Gemini 9 and stroll around the moon from Apollo 17. Detailed accounts of each flight, including technical problems and personal tensions (particularly with Apollo 17 teammate Jack Schmitt, distrusted because he was a scientist, not a test pilot), remind readers that the space program is a human endeavor, with inevitable failures that make the triumphs that much sweeter. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
Eugene Cernan is a unique American who came of age as an astronaut during the most exciting and dangerous decade of spaceflight. His career spanned the entire Gemini and Apollo programs, from being the first person to spacewalk all the way around our world to the moment when he left man's last footprint on the Moon as commander of Apollo 17.Between those two historic events lay more adventures than an ordinary person could imagine as Cernan repeatedly put his life, his family and everything he held dear on the altar of an obsessive desire. Written with New York Times bestselling author Don Davis, this is the astronaut story never before told - about the fear, love and sacrifice demanded of the few men who dared to reach beyond the heavens for the biggest prize of all - the Moon.
Download Description
A revealing and dramatic look at the inside of the American Space Program from one of its pioneers.
Customer Reviews:
An unforgettable journey through time and space .......2007-05-04
Gene Cernan's detailed, autobiographical account of his personal and career Naval aviator, then NASA experiences, first as a Navy test pilot, then as a Gemini and two time Apollo Astronaut. A great read for those of us that missed out on the decade of the 60s space race, culminating in six successful, history making U.S. astronaut manned explorations of the Moon. Mr. Cernan's contributions toward that end were significant and certainly most memorable was his final space flight as Mission Commander of Apollo 17; the mission that began spectacularly as the only night time launch of the gargantun Saturn V rocket and ended with the last American flag, Lunar Rover and footprints left in the Tarrus Littrow Valley of the Moon in December 1972. Accounts of Dr. Rock, Harrison Schmidt, the only civilian scientist to visit the Moon, and their jubilently described 70+ hours of EVA, lunar dig sites and geological finds are lengendary. Gene Cernan and all the other astronauts of that era, both U.S. and Russian, all incredibly brave men made of the "right stuff", shall always be remembered as histories earliest spaceflight pioneers and the original explorers of the Cosmos. BRAVO!!!
he knows, because he's been there.......2007-01-07
If you want to know more about what it really took to go to the moon, this is the book you want. Written by somebody who actually made the trip, it gives you an inside in the program from every possible angle. And it makes you wonder why we didn't go back yet.
very good, very frank and very personal.......2006-12-20
Gene Cernan's memoir is among the first rank of space program books. What sets this work apart is the focus on intensely personal matters. Cernan highlights the competition for flights, with sharp comments about his colleagues and rivals. Many other astronauts get high praise, with notable exceptions, such as Buzz Aldrin. Some reviewers didn't appreciate the personal comments, whereas I felt they made the book more interesting.
There's a distinction between perhaps not liking a guy for what he says and the quality and flow of the writing, which I consider excellent. Often, it's as if Cernan were right there chatting. Even in showing some ego, Mr. Cernan also made no bones about being relatively lucky. He covers the surprise invitation to try out for the program and his surprising acceptance against stiff competition. He also admits he was in the middle of the pack in his group, and on the edge of getting a flight. If not for the deaths of Elliott See and Charlie Bassett, Cernan might be unknown. The candor is refreshing. Well, except for maybe the name dropping about big shots and Hollywood stars.
Even more surprising is the frank discussion of his marriage to Barbara, which eventually failed. I can't help but wonder what she thought of her presentation, ranging from the attractive partner to the highly skilled "astronaut wife" and on to the crushing side of being the dutiful wife. Cernan does not spare himself from blame by any means. The quote of the book may well be Barbara's: someone asked, "How do you feel about Gene going to the Moon?" She answered instantly. "If you think going to the Moon is hard, try staying home."
Cernan gives more coverage of Gemini than the typical book, with again quite a bit on speculation about crew rotations, and a strong segment on Gemini 9 and his near-fatal spacewalk. Another highlight is the opening chapter on Apollo 1 and the fire, of profound significance to Cernan as a member of the backup crew and friend and neighbor of Roger Chaffee. His pain was still there thirty years later.
Apollo 10's coverage has just the right feel, with Cernan possibly still shaking his head in recalling their near crash, "a fifteen-second lifetime during which we made about eight cartwheels above the Moon, and Tom jerked Snoopy back onto a tight leash. Ole Mumbles do know how to fly. After analyzing the data, experts surmised that we had continued spinning for only two more seconds, Tom and I would have crashed." That text again reflects the attractive conversational style.
Apollo 17 probably gets fewer pages than some readers may wish. The play-by-play of the EVAs is fairly brief, which may just as well be left to the non-memoir books. Cernan tries to spend more time on his feelings, the interactions with Schmitt, and some key moments, such as the orange soil and the broken fender.
Readers should also watch part 12 of "From the Earth to the Moon" for its segment on Apollo 17. My copy of the memoirs is signed by Cernan, Stafford, and co-author Don Davis. It's an excellent book, even unsigned!
But What Was It Really Like To Fly The Missions?.......2006-08-23
Gene Cernan is one of America's most experienced and successful astronauts. His three missions were among the most ambitious, successful and exciting of all time. He spent more time, along with partner Harrison Schmitt, than any other man walking on the moon. It was, therefore, with great disappointment that I read this book. What I expect from a book by an astronaut is to really feel and understand what the unique experiences they went through were like and what challenges-physical, mental and technical they overcame. With the notable exception of Mike Collins' autobiography almost none of the astronauts books really provide this. Only 12 men have ever stood on the moon and yet they have not really conveyed what this and other aspects of spaceflight were like in their autobiographies. He dismisses his epic Apollo 17 flight in a few pages and spends more time talking about the politics of crew selection, giving crude descriptions of his wife's figure and other trivia. Also there is a lack of illustrations showing the alien environment he explored so well. Most of the astronauts who wrote autobiographies felt they had to talk down to their audience to make the book attractive to the average reader, thus leaving out much technical information that is actually quite interesting, even for the non-technically-minded layman. The popularity of the film "Apollo 13" and the television series "From the Earth to the Moon" in which technical matters were not shied away from proves this is not true. The fact is the true intelligence and abilities of these men is measured in what they did on their space missions, not as golfers or in planning practical jokes or in celebrity namedropping. In a more positive light, he reveals for the first time the real dangers the Gemini spacewalks entailed and gives a good description of the problems Ed White encountered in Gemini 4 and his own nightmarish experience in Gemini 9.
Don't miss reading this one!.......2006-08-06
An outstanding book. Gives all the insight into the life of an astronaut in training...and
the politics that goes with the job. One of those books you can't put down. Eugene Cernan's narrative on his trips to the moon including the landing are outstanding. This book could be a #l best seller with more promotion. All the pressures that go with the job are unbelievable.
Book Description
A female world-record-setting pilot, Jerrie Cobb was recruited in 1959 to take the astronaut tests. She excelled, so the doctor who supervised the selection of NASA's Mercury astronauts recruited additional female pilots. Twelve performed exceptionally. Stephanie Nolen tracked down eleven of the surviving "Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees" and learned the story of those early days of the space race and the disappointment when, in 1961, the women were grounded.
Customer Reviews:
Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the Space Race.......2007-06-14
Great read! Arrived in excellent condition and quickly
A good canadian view.......2005-10-06
Well for a canadian to begin digging into american history that might have been forgotten WOW.....You picked a good topic....
And to think a person who washed out stopped this from happening.......
Nice work....
Jonathan
Well-written, fascinating story.......2004-07-23
As a Canadian, for many years I have had the pleasure of following Ms Nolen's International journalism in the Globe and Mail, our country's national newspaper. In that same newspaper, I spotted a glowing review of "Promised the Moon" by Roberta Bondar, and it was then that I purchased the book and learned the little-known story of the Mercury 13.
Ms Nolen has certainly done her research. She has tracked down the surviving members of the Mercury 13, and told their story in such a way that even a space "layperson" such as myslef can understand the details. A fascinating, well-written piece of non-fiction by an award-winning journalist. Highly recommended.
An Interesting Story but a Misrepresentation of NASA.......2004-01-08
I am perplexed by the misrepresentation that is presented about this book by the publisher in its advertising copy. There was never a NASA program, clandestine or otherwise, to bring women into the astronaut corps in the late 1950s and early 1960s. We can debate whether or not NASA leaders should have been open to appointing women astronauts, but the reality was that such an expansion of the astronaut corps never even crossed their minds at the time. Additionally, Stephanie Nolen was not the first to "track down" and interview the women who undertook physical tests identical to those of the Mercury Seven astronauts. Margaret A. Weitekamp's work on the subject predates Nolen's research. It was first presented in a dissertation at Cornell University, and is forthcoming as "The Right Stuff: The Wrong Sex: The Lovelace Women in Space Program" from Johns Hopkins University Press in 2004. It will be the authoritative work on this subject.
In addition, the story of the "Mercury 13," as some call these women, is pretty well known in the spaceflight history community. In 1960, Dr. W. Randolph 'Randy' Lovelace II invited Geraldyn 'Jerrie' Cobb to undergo the physical fitness testing regimen that he had helped to develop to select the original U.S. astronauts, the Mercury Seven. Jerrie Cobb became the first American woman to do so, and she proved every bit as successful in the tests as had John Glenn and the other Mercury astronauts. Thereafter, Lovelace and Jerrie Cobb began to recruit more women to take the tests, totally without NASA involvement. Jacqueline Cochran, the famous American aviatrix and an old friend of Lovelace, joined their recruiting effort and volunteered to pay the testing expenses.
By the end of the summer of 1961, twenty-five women had undergone the examinations at the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The women came to New Mexico alone or in pairs for four days of tests. All of the women were skilled airplane pilots with commercial ratings. Most of them were recruited through the Ninety-Nines, a women pilot's organization.
Of those tested, thirteen women did exceptionally well and became known as the "First Lady Astronaut Trainees" or "Mercury 13." A few then agreed to undertake additional tests, and some believed that the further testing represented the first step allowing them to become astronauts, although there was never any intent of this on the part of NASA officials. Indeed, Mercury project managers were unaware of these tests.
When NASA officials learned about Lovelace's attempts for further tests from the Navy, which Lovelace had asked to undertake these tests at Pensacola, they told Navy flight surgeons that this was not a NASA project. The Navy then canceled the tests. Jerrie Cobb and Janey Hart (married to U.S. Senator Philip Hart of Michigan) then began a campaign in Washington, D.C. to have the testing program resumed. On the July 17-18, 1962, Representative Victor Anfuso chaired hearings of a special Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics about this subject. Jerrie Cobb and Janey Hart testified for the women. John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, and George Low testified for NASA that setting up a special program to train women astronauts would hamper the effort to reach the Moon by the end of the decade. This ended the hearing and no women entered the NASA astronaut corps.
When Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963, Clare Booth Luce published an article about the women in "Life" magazine criticizing NASA for not achieving this first. It included contemporary photos of all thirteen women. Of course, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, and in 1995 Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle. At Collins' invitation, eight of these women attended her launch.
In hindsight, one may criticize NASA leaders for not expanding the astronaut corps to women but there is no documentation whatsoever to suggest that there was even a consideration of doing so at the time. Perhaps John Glenn said it best when he remarked in recent years that the agency was reflective of its times. It is important to note, I think, that the first astronauts selected after the completion of Project Apollo--the class of 1978--did include women and other minorities, and therefore reflected the social changes experienced in the nation as a result of the women's movement.
Horribly written by a novice space historian.......2004-01-08
This is one of the many space history books written by someone whos only exposure to the field was in researching for this one book. The book drives one point repeatedly: at the time women were expected to stay at home with the babies and not fly in space. Anyone with knowledge of this era in American history knows this, and this is one of the only bits of actual information provided.
The author does not include dates or references where appropriate. All references are collected in alphabetical order at the end of the book--no foot or endnoting. The lack of dates is at points so great that it is easy to get lost in the timeline of the story, as most of the events of the book take place in a three year span that Nolen jumps around in.
Perhaps the most distressing thing about the book is the tone she takes when talking about NASA and the Mercury 7. At points she inserts off the cuff remarks about NASA leadership or members of the senate that called a hearing into the cancellation of the women's astronaut testing. Nolen takes the anti-NASA side saying that NASA refused to let the testing of the women continue and that they are at fault, when her own book indicates clearly that NASA never wanted the testing done in the first place and had no plans for female astronauts in the 1960's. Many at NASA were insulted, rightfully so, when a group of 13 women said they wanted to be astronauts when NASA had tested hundreds of men and only accepted seven!
Of all the space history books I have read (and I have read well over 30) this one is the worst. I highly advise not spending time on this book.
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Race and Ethnicity: Across Time, Space and Discipline (Studies in Critical Social Sciences)
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Customer Reviews:
Has its moments that are pretty good.......2006-10-29
I re-visited this book, which I read (and got autographed by Shepard) when it was new, after watching the great "From the Earth to the Moon" series again. The book has its four-star moments, but I settled for three.
The content is not particularly sophisticated, and to be honest, the competition among the Apollo books is strong. For example, books by Lovell and Cernan are both better than this one. Even so, it's worth reading by students of the space program for the additional perspective and occasion detail.
Perhaps a root problem is that the book is a mixture of autobiography and story of the space program, with the perspective of the two astronauts not given very often. When that happened effectively, the book was at its best. I liked stories such as NASA's attempt to keep secret who had gotten the first flight, Deke's grounding, Shepard's return to flight status, Apollo 14, and Deke's reaction to the Apollo 1 fire. There are several scenes like that, enough to make the book worthwhile.
In contrast, some other incidents had superfluous reference to the authors. I didn't really care that Deke and Al sort-of high-fived each other when Apollo 11 landed. Their thoughts on the end of the Apollo program or what the program really meant to them aren't really captured. Few insightful comments about the other astronauts were made (unlike Cernan's book). Many opportunities were lost.
The Apollo-Soyuz mission is presented as a relatively big deal, which it was to Deke, obviously. In reality, it was pretty meaningless, other than as an exercise in international cooperation.
Deke comes across pretty well in other books and in the "From the Earth to the Moon" series. His character shines at times here, too. Maybe some remarks by other people about Deke, besides from Shepard, would have helped convey that image. How did others feel about how Deke ran the astronaut office, which was his core contribution to the space program? You won't find that in this book.
Have a blast with this fantastic book!.......2004-03-17
I'm a typical space nut, and to me, any space book is a good space book. I read this book all in one day and I was not disappointed. It gave me a lot of information about the Russian's race to the moon, and I learned stuff that I never knew before.
The part about Slayton in Russia is particularly funny. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this book for yourself. You won't be sorry!
The only disadvantage is that there are a lot of cuss words in it, which should have been censored out before the book was published. Oh well!
Wowie Kazowie!.......2003-06-06
This book is really great. Read it!
Good account of Apollo 14, but better overall books elsewher.......2001-05-18
I must agree somewhat with one of the early reviewers that essentially trashed this book...the only real value that I got was the detailed account of the Apollo 14 mission and , to a lesser degree, the Apollo-Soyuez mission in 1975. Shepard's "great friendship" with Deke Slayton that is gone into in almost sickening detail here is re-buked in "Deke!", a book written by Slayton alone and published at almost the same time! Even the video version (titled the same "Moonshot") is weak and you can definetly get better accounts of the program elsewhere.
highly enjoyable.......2001-04-21
Although the book is skewed toward Shepard's and Slayton's space missions (and does not cover other missions in details), I throughly enjoyed reading it. It's very touching to look at Shepard's and Slayton's emotions beind the scence and to realize the hurdles each man had to overcome. It's an inspiring story!
Book Description
Los Angeles pulsed with economic vitality and demographic growth in the decades following World War II. This vividly detailed cultural history of L.A. from 1940 to 1970 traces the rise of a new suburban consciousness adopted by a generation of migrants who abandoned older American cities for Southern California's booming urban region. Eric Avila explores expressions of this new "white identity" in popular culture with provocative discussions of Hollywood and film noir, Dodger Stadium, Disneyland, and L.A.'s renowned freeways. These institutions not only mirrored this new culture of suburban whiteness and helped shape it, but also, as Avila argues, reveal the profound relationship between the increasingly fragmented urban landscape of Los Angeles and the rise of a new political outlook that rejected the tenets of New Deal liberalism and anticipated the emergence of the New Right.
Avila examines disparate manifestations of popular culture in architecture, art, music, and more to illustrate the unfolding urban dynamics of postwar Los Angeles. He also synthesizes important currents of new research in urban history, cultural studies, and critical race theory, weaving a textured narrative about the interplay of space, cultural representation, and identity amid the westward shift of capital and culture in postwar America.
Amazon.com
Countdown offers a technically detailed, historically rich narrative of the human quest to enter deep space. T. A. Heppenheimer, the author of several books touching on the history of aviation, traces the development of manned flight through the military rocketry programs of the pre-World War II era, writing of experiments that often ended disastrously until all the ingredients, physical and chemical, came together. Drawing on recently declassified documents, he studs his account with telling anecdotes. (In one, a Soviet crew returned from a circumnavigation of earth and touched down off course, winding up in the Ural Mountains surrounded by hungry wolves--hardly the stuff of regular astronaut training.) For space buffs, this is a highly recommended work of reference.
Book Description
The most comprehensive account of the forces behind mankind's boldest adventure
A History of Space Flight
"By far the most significant and technically insightful account of the ventures into the space environment I have seen. . . . [Heppenheimer] concentrates unerringly on key elements, both technical and managerial, in this account of man's initial space ventures."—Lee Atwood, Former President and Chairman, North American Aviation Corporation
"A fascinating, detailed comparison of the people and programs, the triumphs and failures of the two major space-faring nations; well presented and well told."—Dale D. Myers, Former Associate Administrator for Space Flight, NASA
"A hundred years ago, a brilliant Russian schoolteacher had a vision of human beings overcoming gravity to venture beyond their home planet. Today, astronauts and cosmonauts live together in space for months on end. What happened in between is a story of phenomenal ingenuity and perseverance by some of our century's greatest engineers, scientists, and explorers. No one is better equipped to tell that wondrous tale than Tom Heppenheimer. Combining an expert grasp of technology with a historian's perspective on world events, he weaves the story of space flight through the unfolding of the twentieth century. It's all here, from the early rocket experiments of Goddard and von Braun, to the Cold War race to the moon, to the era of international cooperation in space. This truly impressive book conveys the power that has lifted humanity off the earth—not only rockets, but people who dared to reach beyond their own limits."—Andrew Chaikin, Author of A Man on the Moon: The Voyage of the Apollo Astronauts is the most comprehensive account of mankind's drive to explore outer space. Drawing on new information—including recently opened Soviet archives and declassified CIA documents—this landmark book reveals the behind-the-scenes events that shaped both the U.S. and Soviet space programs.
Acclaimed science writer and aeronautical engineer T. A. Heppenheimer traces the evolution of long-range projectiles from their violent birth early in the twentieth century to their peaceful use today. He weaves a fascinating story of vivid personalities and awesome technologies, of courage and imagination as well as pettiness, waste, and destruction. The key players in NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the CIA, the Soviet Union, and the major European powers come together against a riveting backdrop of high technology and high stakes in international politics.
Working out of wine cellars, chicken coops, and parking lots, with improvised equipment that included sauce pans and cocktail shakers, space age prophets like Robert Goddard, Hermann Oberth, and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky attracted the attention of their respective governments—who quickly saw the military potential of their work. Countdown is alive with rich portraits of pivotal figures, including the brilliant aristocrat, Wernher von Braun, father of the dreaded V-2 rocket and future head of the American space effort, and Sergei Korolev, sentenced to a Siberian prison camp under Stalin's terror, only to be released to lead the Soviet rocket program.
Heppenheimer gives an eye-opening account of the involvement of the CIA during the 1950s and 1960s, and shows that the CIA, the Air Force, and the North American Aviation Corporation were, in fact, the original architects of America's space program. He argues persuasively that the Soviet space program began as a cynical ploy by Nikita Khrushchev to convince Third World leaders that the Soviet Union was a much more technologically advanced country than it actually was, and that the tide of history was flowing East rather than West. He provides a detailed account of how Kennedy's decision to go to the moon was, in turn, an attempt to counter Khrushchev's public relations maneuvers. And he describes how, in the post-Cold War era, a new spirit of cooperation, epitomized by hybrid rockets and joint space missions, is merging the U.S. and Russian space programs into a single global enterprise.
Countdown: A History of Space Flight is historical writing at its very best: the precise and thrilling unfolding of human events on the grand scale.
T. A. HEPPENHEIMER, Ph.D., an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has written extensively on aerospace, business, and the history of technology. He is a frequent contributor to magazines such as Discover, Forbes, Nature, Omni, and American Heritage. He is the author of six previous books, Turbulent Skies (Wiley) and Colonies in Space.
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