This brief but engaging chronicle of how rocketry made space travel possible begins 1,000 years ago in China with the invention of “fire arrows.” Skurzynski breezes through the astronomical discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler and the formulation of Newton’s laws of gravity and motion to the late 19th century. After discussing the contributions of rocketry pioneers Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert Goddard, Hermann Oberth and Wernher von Braun, the author focuses on the era of space exploration, beginning with the launch of Sputnik and continuing with the ensuing “space race” between the United States and Soviet Union. Important developments such as the Saturn V rocket, space-shuttle program and international space station are highlighted. The concluding chapter discussing NASA’s Ares program and its plan to return to the Moon is already dated by the Obama administration’s recent decision to scrap the program. Abundantly illustrated and attractively designed, readers will find this overview of rocket science informative and appealing. Glossary, index and resources not seen. (Nonfiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4263-0597-9
Page Count: 80
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
In this abridged and illustrated version of his Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), Bryson invites a younger crowd of seekers on a tour of time, space and science—from the Big Bang and the birth of the solar system to the growth and study of life on Earth. The single-topic spreads are adorned with cartoon portraits of scientists, explorers and (frequently) the author himself, which go with small nature photos and the occasional chart or cutaway view. Though occasionally subject to sweeping and dubious statements—“There’s no chance we could ever make a journey through the solar system”—Bryson makes a genial guide (“for you to be here now, trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to come together in a complicated and obliging manner to create you”), and readers with even a flicker of curiosity in their souls about Big Ideas will come away sharing his wonder at living in such a “fickle and eventful universe.” (index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-385-73810-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009
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