97 Books Like Flight

I have read many books about the Apollo astronauts and their journeys to the Moon, but this very readable book is the only one that took me along on the greatest human adventure in space.

Chaikin also left me knowing each one of these astronauts better than I did when I started.

I wanted to be an astronaut. I was drawn to the adventure, excitement, and thrill of rockets. One of the most thrilling experiences of the American space program was the flight of Apollo XIII.

The commander of the flight, Jim Lovell, working with writer Jeffery Kluger, took me aboard this ill-fated flight, filling in all my questions about the flight and how to solve the challenges. I have often turned to this book throughout my flying career.

Being a pilot involves overcoming obstacles, although most are not as severe as those faced by the crew of Apollo XIII. Nevertheless, this book showed me that with focus, hard work, and an outstanding crew, there are a few challenges that can’t be overcome.

I read every book I could find on space flight. However, none meant more to me than this one. It wasn’t necessarily the story of the two flights Collins made that touched me. What set this book apart for me was the fact that he wrote it himself. What resulted was a first-hand experience as an astronaut. 

When I was a kid, I was able to pass enough math and physics to become a professional pilot, but I had nowhere near the aptitude required to be an astronaut. I always found this a disappointment in my life. After spending hours with this book, I was taken on a journey no other author was ever able to fulfill. For that, I will always be grateful.

The basis for the movie October Sky, this isn’t an account of the space program so much as it is a study of the types of people drawn to it, in particular a young man in 1950s West Virginia striving for something more than a life in the coal mines. The culture shock of Sputnik sets him and his friends off into increasingly dangerous—and often hilarious—experiments in amateur rocketry.

Set against an awkward adolescence in a small coal town, it’s a vivid illustration of the obstacles that must be overcome to break free of the cycles life can impose. The screen adaptation takes some liberties, most notably with Hickam’s father. The book portrays him as being cautiously supportive, if understandably skeptical, of his teenage son’s unlikely obsession.

I enjoyed this book because I shared the author's life with him in both the Mercury and Mission Control Centers. I witnessed his intense management and leadership style first-hand.

Not only was he my direct supervisor, but he was my mentor and friend. His family was very close to mine; he was also my neighbor. Gene is one of the reasons the Space Program was so successful. He epitomizes "Tough and Competent."

I enjoyed this book because it describes one of the very first Flight Directors; one that people don’t know much about; Glynn Lunney. He was a relatively quiet person but extremely intelligent and capable. He is best known for his leadership in the control center during the Apollo XIII mission and during the Apollo Soyuz mission. He also was the Flight Dynamics Branch Chief that included all of the "Trench" Flight Controllers. 

I enjoyed this book because the authors give much credit to all the Flight Controllers at all the positions including those in the back rooms supporting those in the Mission Operations Control Room.

The book highlights the backgrounds of young ordinary people from “rural America and smokestack towns” who became extraordinary, if not brilliant. They were a band of brothers supporting the first missions to the Moon. 

I enjoyed this book because it tells the stories of many of the men who manned the first row of consoles in the Mission Control Center, which was called the “Trench.” Their individual stories are unique. They came from all walks of life and were mostly in their twenties during Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.

"We were the guys in the Trench: the Retrofire Officer, the Flight Dynamics Officer and the Guidance Officer. We were the ground pilots who tracked the spacecraft, calculated the maneuvers, and told the astronauts what time to burn, what maneuvers to do, and where to go.  We were a proud bunch." Jerry Bostic, February, 2000

Gene Kranz gave a precise and concise description of historic events around the creation of America’s manned space program and presented the key players at the forefront of NASA’s space exploration Missions. His participation in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission was dramatically documented in this book to my admiration. A fascinating firsthand account by a veteran mission controller of one of America’s greatest achievements, this book reflects on what has happened to the space program and offers his own bold suggestions about what we ought to be doing in space now.

I fell in love with this book because of the author’s personal involvement and perceptions in some of the Mission programs. The graphic description of different explorations kept me spellbound to read each exploration to the end. Again, the book was written with simple and easy-flowing English grammar… show more.

This was the book that made me a pilot. I often tell people that the movie was about the astronauts, whereas the book is about the pilots who were astronauts.

In this book, Wolfe captures the essence of what it is to be a Pilot better than any other book I have ever read. I first read this when I was in my teens. Before every check ride, I revisited selected passages to get in the right frame of mind to go out and crush my flight.

This is the book that inspired, encouraged, and drove me. I have read and re-read it more times than I can remember, and I will undoubtedly continue to read it far into the future.