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At the Edge of Space (Paperback)

by M Thompson (Author)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Price:	�16.95 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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X-15 Diary: The Story of America's First Space Ship by S. Scott
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Product details

Paperback: 375 pages
Publisher: Smithsonian Books; illustrated edition edition (8 May 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1588340783
ISBN-13: 978-1588340788
Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.2 x 3 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 332,544 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#99 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Speciality Travel > Air Travel

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Product Description

Review

"Thompson's well written history of the program captures the technical challenges, the camaraderie, and, most of all, the high adventure of X-15 flight.

Synopsis

A narrative account of NASA's ambitious program, initiated in the 1950s, to test the survivability of rocket-powered aircraft at hypersonic speeds and at the outermost limits of the Earth's atmosphere.

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	54% buy the item featured on this page: At the Edge of Space 4.4 out of 5 stars (13) �16.95
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why don't kids learn about this in school?, 22 Feb 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program (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.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rocket Pilot Tells it Like it Was!, 30 Mar 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program (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 !

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Technical Book about the X-15 Rocket Plane !, 31 Mar 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program (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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 Jul 2007 by AggroTheAnalyst

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 29 Aug 2006 by C. J. Husing

5.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published on 30 Dec 2003 by SteveR

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

3.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars Higher and faster than anything else!
This is a report of the X-15 flight test program by one of the pilots. Full of anectodes, funny and hair-raising stories, technical descriptions about this exciting plane - and... Read more

Published on 28 Jul 1997

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