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Review
Thompson brings the era to life, describing the triumph and tragedy of the pilots and technicians that worked on perhaps the countrys most ambitious Xplane testing program. --Sky & Telescope
Thompson is especially strong in describing the human dimension of the X-15 effort, enlivening the narrative with both heroic and humorous anecdotes. --Air Power History
Couldnt put it down. --U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings
Thompson is especially strong in describing the human dimension of the X-15 effort, enlivening the narrative with both heroic and humorous anecdotes. --Air Power History
Couldnt put it down. --U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings
Product Description
In At the Edge of Space, Milton O. Thompson tells the dramatic story of one of the most successful research aircraft ever flown. The first full-length account of the X-15 program, the book profiles the twelve test pilots (Neil Armstrong, Joe Engle, Scott Crossfield, and the author among them) chosen for the program. Thompson has translated a highly technical subject into readable accounts of each pilot's participation, including many heroic and humorous anecdotes and highlighting the pilots' careers after the program ended in 1968.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Milt Thompson isn't a writer. He's a pilot and, for all practical purposes, an astronaut. This book reads like a chat with a pilot who has been there and done that. Although the prose is a bit lacking, the honesty and quailty of the stories more than compensate for the rather dry and unprofessional style. The rough feel may even inprove the overall effect; reading this book is like sitting in an adjacent booth at Denny's and listening to an old pilot tell stories. He assumes you are an acronym expert so don't expect a lot of explantions of the terms he uses every day. I learned just the right amount about the people, the machines, and the program. No fluff here. Just the facts, with the occasional bit of humor. This one is a keeper.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The late Milton THOMPSON has produced the best single book about the X-15 programme, and the best book by an American rocket pilot since the late William BRIDGEMAN's "The Lonely Sky".
THOMPSON has given the reader a feel for the aircraft, and good stories that put you in the driver's seat flying down the X-15 High Range at altitudes in excess of 65 km and speeds greater than 5900 kmh.
As a bonus you get an insider's view of some of the other personalities such as WALKER, ARMSTRONG and BIKLE; and snippets about other programmes such as the X-20. The book is written in the affable stlye of a pilot talking to other pilots in the bar or crewroom.
I would take the comments from the vitriolic reviewer in Auckland with a large pinch of salt. As one example, no-one needs to have "been to High Key" to read the map in Figure 5. Any reader wishing to know engineering details can consult some of the original NASA reports available on-line. As for readers with insufficient knowledge of flying - get some! (You could do alot worse than leafing through "Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators" by H. H. HURT).
In summary, READ THIS BOOK !
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A technical focus is very important when you write about a experimental project like the X-15. Mr. Thompson wrote this book with some technical feel and all the experience of a test pilot and Systems Engineer. I like his description of the Ballistic Flight Control System and the transition from the Atmospheric flight to the Space flight and return.
You can read the dialogs between the X-15 pilot and the B-52 pilots and the Chase planes pilots. In the case of Mike Adams flight, you can feel the moment of the tragedy.
In resume, is the best X-15 Book and a apology to the X-15 project and all the people that work in it.
You can read the dialogs between the X-15 pilot and the B-52 pilots and the Chase planes pilots. In the case of Mike Adams flight, you can feel the moment of the tragedy.
In resume, is the best X-15 Book and a apology to the X-15 project and all the people that work in it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Riding the bull
I haven't a lot to add to the comments already made, except that I enjoyed the book, and think its worth having as a good companion to the best general book on the X-15,... Read more
Published 6 months ago by M. Amos
Great telling of the X-15 story
As one of the few pilots who flew this ground-breaking, record-setting aircraft, Milt Thompson has a unique viewpoint amongst those writing about this programme. Read more
Published on 29 July 2007 by AggroTheAnalyst
The Right Stuff Part 2
Milt Thompson was amongst the last of the pioneering US Air Force and NASA test pilots who "pushed the envelope" at Edwards Air Force Base and the adjoining NASA High Speed Flight... Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2006 by C. J. Husing
Gripping
OK - it helps to love aircraft - but I found this book compelling reading - from touching the ground accidentally in an F104 to bouncing on re-entry in the X15, from blowing people... Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2003 by SteveR
A Great Way to Relive the Most Exciting History!
I can ditto the above remarks. As an aviation buff and current corporate pilot, this is one book I couldn't put down until I had finished reading it! Read more
Published on 24 Dec 1998
Being there
Thompson paints a good picture of what it was like to fly the X-15, with lots of technical detail. If you like Michael Collins' books about Apollo and the rest of the US space... Read more
Published on 1 Sep 1998
Rocket Man fails to break the readability barrier
What a wondrous venture was the NASA X-15 programme! To strap a man into a stainless steel fuselage packed with a cocktail of volatile propellants, powered by an engine descended... Read more
Published on 15 Mar 1998
Not an excellent read, but a good history of the X15 program
This book provided a good history of the X15 flight program. Mr. Thompson's authorship skills aren't the best, but the anecdotes he relates are worth the read. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 1997
You don't need style when writing about the X-15
The X-15 story is an interesting one to tell, and having someone from the early days of the program tell it can add a lot. Even though Mr. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 1997
Good Review of The X-15 Program From a Guy Who Was There
Quick flowing narrative of Milton Thompson's experience in the X-15 program (he was both a pilot and a flight engineer). Read more
Published on 11 Aug 1997
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