Review of From Apollo To Artemis
Posted: 07 Dec 2024, 18:17
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "From Apollo To Artemis" by Herb Baker.]
From the Apollo missions clear to the Artemis program, author and former NASA employee Herb Baker narrates his experiences working for NASA. In “From Apollo to Artemis: Stories From My 50 Years With NASA,” Herb Baker details his life and shares stories you’ve probably never heard. Less of a technical manual of how NASA works and more of a personal narration of small stories about individual people and anecdotes from projects, Herb Baker’s memoir is a page-turner for any space enthusiast.
“From Apollo to Artemis” was a very easy read with little technical jargon. The stories Herb Baker tells are less stories about the missions and more about the fun anecdotes and people involved with the missions. One of the coolest aspects of reading this book was the small details you wouldn’t otherwise know, especially if you’re not a space enthusiast. I especially loved when Herb Baker talked about the lunar mission. He knew the people who worked on the lunar mission and helped make the rocket. He talks about how the astronauts' start charts were made of paper, the parachutes were sewn and folded by hand, and the heat shield was applied using a caulking gun. On page 29, Herb says, “Despite its high-tech reputation, it’s easy to forget how much of the lunar missions were handmade.” This bit of information about how much of early NASA was done by hand flabbergasted me. It was such a cool piece of information that I had never thought about before.
One of my favorite stories was about the Spider Experiment during the Skylab 3 launch. I had never heard of this experiment before. The astronauts took two spiders, Arabella and Anita, to space to see if they could still weave webs in zero gravity. It was fascinating to learn about this experiment and to see how it influenced future missions.
The editing was wonderfully done, as I only found one small grammar mistake. The only negative thing that I would have to say about “From Apollo to Artemis” would be that I wish more time had been spent describing certain missions or experiments that had been conducted. They were fascinating, and we were only given a summary. Many people were also named, but I had no idea who they were. While the author did a great job describing their roles with NASA, there was still a little “information overload.” I wouldn’t say this necessarily detracted from the story, as those more knowledgeable about NASA and the space programs would probably not find this detracting.
My grievances, as slight as they are, do not bring down the score of this book, as I rate it a five out of five. It was excellently edited and beautifully written, and it would be an excellent addition to any space enthusiast’s bookshelf or anyone who enjoys reading about NASA and its various space programs.
******
From Apollo To Artemis
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
From the Apollo missions clear to the Artemis program, author and former NASA employee Herb Baker narrates his experiences working for NASA. In “From Apollo to Artemis: Stories From My 50 Years With NASA,” Herb Baker details his life and shares stories you’ve probably never heard. Less of a technical manual of how NASA works and more of a personal narration of small stories about individual people and anecdotes from projects, Herb Baker’s memoir is a page-turner for any space enthusiast.
“From Apollo to Artemis” was a very easy read with little technical jargon. The stories Herb Baker tells are less stories about the missions and more about the fun anecdotes and people involved with the missions. One of the coolest aspects of reading this book was the small details you wouldn’t otherwise know, especially if you’re not a space enthusiast. I especially loved when Herb Baker talked about the lunar mission. He knew the people who worked on the lunar mission and helped make the rocket. He talks about how the astronauts' start charts were made of paper, the parachutes were sewn and folded by hand, and the heat shield was applied using a caulking gun. On page 29, Herb says, “Despite its high-tech reputation, it’s easy to forget how much of the lunar missions were handmade.” This bit of information about how much of early NASA was done by hand flabbergasted me. It was such a cool piece of information that I had never thought about before.
One of my favorite stories was about the Spider Experiment during the Skylab 3 launch. I had never heard of this experiment before. The astronauts took two spiders, Arabella and Anita, to space to see if they could still weave webs in zero gravity. It was fascinating to learn about this experiment and to see how it influenced future missions.
The editing was wonderfully done, as I only found one small grammar mistake. The only negative thing that I would have to say about “From Apollo to Artemis” would be that I wish more time had been spent describing certain missions or experiments that had been conducted. They were fascinating, and we were only given a summary. Many people were also named, but I had no idea who they were. While the author did a great job describing their roles with NASA, there was still a little “information overload.” I wouldn’t say this necessarily detracted from the story, as those more knowledgeable about NASA and the space programs would probably not find this detracting.
My grievances, as slight as they are, do not bring down the score of this book, as I rate it a five out of five. It was excellently edited and beautifully written, and it would be an excellent addition to any space enthusiast’s bookshelf or anyone who enjoys reading about NASA and its various space programs.
******
From Apollo To Artemis
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
