Tragedy and Triumph in Orbit : The Eighties and Early Nineties /

This book is the fourth in a proposed series of six volumes. Evans's earlier works in the series, Escaping the Bonds of Earth (CH, Jan'10, 47-2537), Foothold in the Heavens (CH, Mar'11, 48-3844), and At Home in Space (2011), covered the story of space exploration from the 1950s to the 1980s. This large volume takes readers to the early 1990s. Evans provides very good details of people and events, but places much less emphasis on science, engineering, and space technology. The author's intent was to emphasize the human and personal side of the many aspects of space exploration--not only of the Americans, but also of the Soviets and others. As he states, "It is a collection of stories: the stories of how a few hundred remarkable people, all of whom achieved an uncommon goal forever changed our perspective on the world in which we live...." He notes that the book provides information on space history and the key players (some that are not well known) not available in other sources. An inadequate index lists only the names of people and spacecraft. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic, professional, and general space history collections. A. M. Strauss Vanderbilt University