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..."a book which should fascinate and stimulate the next generation of physics students. Written with an almost naive simplicity, yet back up at every stage with an explanation of the basic physics and technology. Allday examines not only how NASA reached the Moon in 1969, but the viability of all the subsequent proposals for continuing the journey on to Mars and beyond. He explains with startling clarity that manned bases on mars, which has a similar day/night cycle to Earth's are much more practical than on the Moon." -Astronomy Now "Written in a friendly and informal style, this very readable book will serve as an excellent introduction to astronautics for teenagers/school students interested in space, science teachers and general science readers. All school libraries should have a copy of this book." Spaceflight "An ideal summary of NASA's Apollo program and a good spaceflight primer. Highly recommended." W.E.Howard III, Universities Space Research Association .." all handled very nicely and the text is spiced with real-world examples and illustrated with clear diagrams and black-and-white photos." Earth Space Review
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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Product Description
"Apollo in Perspective: Spaceflight Then and Now" takes a retrospective look at the Apollo space program and the technology that was used to land a man on the Moon. Using simple illustrations and school-level mathematics, Jonathan Allday explains the basic physics and technology of spaceflight and conveys the huge technological strides that were made and the dedication of the people working on the program.Physics topics covered include the laws of motion, rocketry, how to maneuver in orbit, and more. Informal and engaging, the book also discusses the designs of the Apollo Command, Service and Lunar modules and how these changed as the plans for the manned mission evolved. Guidance systems, computers, and engines all had to be developed for the first time. With Apollo as background, the book proceeds to look at the space shuttle, the technology being developed for its replacement, the International Space Station, and the possibilities for a manned Mars mission. The book concludes with an exploration of the far future, including Mars colonies and journeys to other stars.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was delighted when I found this book in the University bookshop. I've read many books on project Apollo but none of them tackle the nitty griity of spaceflight and those that do require more than my Advance Level of physics to understand! This book has bridged that gap. It's written informatively and with authority but is always readable. It has explained some things I could never quite understand, or get an answer form some of the academics here in my universty (if one jumps up in a rotating space station does one come down again?). Apollo in Perspective looks out of place next to my Neurophysiology texts and papers, but it's the one book that eveyone picks up when they come into my office! Buy this, now!
Format:Paperback
It's been some years since I first bought and read this book and since then I've learned so much more about Apollo from other sources-DVD, books, websites etc. But I picked this off the shelf again and still find it to be one of the finest 'technical' books about Project Apollo. Mr Allday has cut through the jargon-or should I say explained it well-and presented an account of how men were sent to the Moon. I wish Mr Allday would write a follow up with more detail, perhaps-I'd be the first person to buy it!
It's a brilliant book and I'm now going to buy a hard backed copy(at considerable cost!) as a keep-sake and in the hope it'll inspire my future generation!
Buy this and understand Project Apollo in an enjoyable accessible way!
It's a brilliant book and I'm now going to buy a hard backed copy(at considerable cost!) as a keep-sake and in the hope it'll inspire my future generation!
Buy this and understand Project Apollo in an enjoyable accessible way!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
A very good read for space buffs
9 Dec 1999
Format:Paperback
"Apollo in Perspective" is a very interesting and inspiring book. I was a star struck kid who avidly followed the space program, spent many happy hours running through simulated Apollo missions with my Saturn V/Apollo model, and watched the moon landing and walk as a 10 year old. This certainly contributed to my desire to eventually become a scientist. The author has a similar background, and it shows in this book - he does a good job of expressing the wonder and joy in the details that those of us who were kids then felt. It's a shame my own kids don't have anything like the moon program to fixate on.
As the title suggests, the Apollo program is covered superbly, with detailed chapters on all the major systems (rockets, command and service modules, and lunar module), and shorter discussions of things like space suits and the computers used on Gemini and Apollo. There is even a short chapter on "The Politics of Apollo".
There is more to this book than simply the Apollo program, however. The physics of how a rocket works and orbital mechanics are intuitively described, with equations presented at a high school algebra level. Calculus derivations of some of the more important equations are presented in an appendix. I've been hearing values quoted for specific impulse at conferences for years, and never had a clear physical understanding of what it meant until reading the author's discussion of it. Additional chapters describe the Space Shuttle, plans and dreams about Mars exploration, and a very down-to-earth discussion of the technology available and required for interstellar travel.
This book is very well researched. I was able to find only a small number of inconsequential errors. URLs are given for useful resources on the web. There is an interesting "Where are they now?" section that gives a short post-Apollo bio of the crews of Apollo 11-17. Good summaries of the Apollo 1 fire and the Challenger disaster are presented.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the space program.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
An Interesting Viewpoint On Apollo
28 Nov 2004
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have read most common (and many uncommon) books on the Apollo program. "Apollo in Perspective" is totally unique among all those books. The book is written with a historical perspective on the Apollo program that not only discusses the technology, missions, and hardware of Apollo, it also discusses the political underpinnings of Apollo as well. That is all relatively common, though; the thing that sets this book apart is that it also covers the physics of rockets, orbital mechanics, and trajectories in a comprehensible manner that most casual readers have not been exposed to. He also gives excellent summaries of the Apollo 1 fire and the Challenger accident, as well as observations on the shuttle, future planetary exploration, and John Glenn's shuttle ride.
The book is interesting for both aerospace professionals and newly interested readers as well. In the body of the book, for instance, he discusses the basic math behind Newton's laws and required thrust (which accompanies an especially well written section on staging) without resorting to extravagant mathematical proofs, however for the more avid reader he defines the calculus based proofs in the appendix. This writing technique makes the book an excellent choice for an intelligent non-expert to read as an introduction to the Apollo program.
I found this book to be quite accurate, and found his conclusions to be generally very sound. I don't universally agree with every opinion he shares in the concluding part of the book (he essentially contends, for instance, that John Glenn's shuttle flight was apolitical, an opinion I don't share, and in which he is definitely in a tiny minority), but I find his reasoning to be excellent overall. My one critique of the book would be that the last third or so of the book dwells on the shuttle, Mars missions, and other future programs (some of which are very far out.) I am sure that Mr. Allday would say that past is prologue, and that those programs form part of the perspective mentioned in his title. I don't dislike the information; I just found some of it less than germane to the Apollo program.
This is an excellent, accurate, and interesting book, which I highly recommend to any space enthusiast.
The book is interesting for both aerospace professionals and newly interested readers as well. In the body of the book, for instance, he discusses the basic math behind Newton's laws and required thrust (which accompanies an especially well written section on staging) without resorting to extravagant mathematical proofs, however for the more avid reader he defines the calculus based proofs in the appendix. This writing technique makes the book an excellent choice for an intelligent non-expert to read as an introduction to the Apollo program.
I found this book to be quite accurate, and found his conclusions to be generally very sound. I don't universally agree with every opinion he shares in the concluding part of the book (he essentially contends, for instance, that John Glenn's shuttle flight was apolitical, an opinion I don't share, and in which he is definitely in a tiny minority), but I find his reasoning to be excellent overall. My one critique of the book would be that the last third or so of the book dwells on the shuttle, Mars missions, and other future programs (some of which are very far out.) I am sure that Mr. Allday would say that past is prologue, and that those programs form part of the perspective mentioned in his title. I don't dislike the information; I just found some of it less than germane to the Apollo program.
This is an excellent, accurate, and interesting book, which I highly recommend to any space enthusiast.
This book is a "must read" for people facinated with rockets
5 April 2009
Format:Paperback
Subtitled "Spaceflight Then and Now", this hardcover book weighs in at 320 pages. And what a surprise. An internet friend suggested I buy this book just to read chapters 5 (The Apollo Command and Service Modules) and 6 (The Lunar Module) but I decided to read the whole thing because it is a treasure trove of information. Here are the chapter names with a few comments thrown in:
1) Apollo in Outline
2) The Best Driver in Physics (Momentum, Rocket Motor Physics, etc.)
x) Intermission 1: The Saturn V booster rocket
3) Rocketry (Thrust, Impulse, Real Rocket Engines, etc.)
x) Intermission 2: From Mercury to Gemini
4) Orbits and Trajectories (Centripetal Forces, Gravity and Orbits, Elliptical Orbits, Circularization Burns and when to do them, Hohmann transfers), Flying to the Moon, Trajectories to Mars (includes why a lower delta-V is required to get to Mars than than to the Moon), Space Stations)
5) The Apollo Command and Service Modules
x) Intermission 3: Inertial Guidance and Computers
6) The Lunar Module
x) Intermission 4: The Three 'ings' (Eating, Sleeping, Excreting)
7) The Shuttle and its Followers
x) Intermission 5: The Politics of Apollo
8) Mars
x) Intermission 6: Godspeed John Glenn
9) Journeys to the Stars (Orion and project Daedalus, Laser propulsion, Ramjet, Antimatter Drive, Colony ships, Wormholes, etc.)
x) Appendix 1: Glossary
x) Appendix 2: Apollo Mission Summary
x) Appendix 3: Development of Boosters
x) Appendix 4: Deriving Some of the Maths
x) Appendix 5: Further Information
x) Index
1) Apollo in Outline
2) The Best Driver in Physics (Momentum, Rocket Motor Physics, etc.)
x) Intermission 1: The Saturn V booster rocket
3) Rocketry (Thrust, Impulse, Real Rocket Engines, etc.)
x) Intermission 2: From Mercury to Gemini
4) Orbits and Trajectories (Centripetal Forces, Gravity and Orbits, Elliptical Orbits, Circularization Burns and when to do them, Hohmann transfers), Flying to the Moon, Trajectories to Mars (includes why a lower delta-V is required to get to Mars than than to the Moon), Space Stations)
5) The Apollo Command and Service Modules
x) Intermission 3: Inertial Guidance and Computers
6) The Lunar Module
x) Intermission 4: The Three 'ings' (Eating, Sleeping, Excreting)
7) The Shuttle and its Followers
x) Intermission 5: The Politics of Apollo
8) Mars
x) Intermission 6: Godspeed John Glenn
9) Journeys to the Stars (Orion and project Daedalus, Laser propulsion, Ramjet, Antimatter Drive, Colony ships, Wormholes, etc.)
x) Appendix 1: Glossary
x) Appendix 2: Apollo Mission Summary
x) Appendix 3: Development of Boosters
x) Appendix 4: Deriving Some of the Maths
x) Appendix 5: Further Information
x) Index
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