Thom reviewed Thirteen by Cooper, Henry S. F., Jr.
Review of 'Thirteen' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Written shortly after the incident, this is a fairly technical timeline of the challenges faced by the crew and ground controllers. The recent Tom Hanks movie educated a new generation about this event, but didn't do as good a job of explaining the solutions and the teamwork involved.
Author Henry S.F. Cooper, a descendant of James Fennimore Cooper, was a prolific science writer. I read his account of the Magellan spacecraft ([b:The Evening Star|1911358|The Evening Star Venus Observed|Henry S.F. Cooper Jr.|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266924830l/1911358.SY75.jpg|1913297]) and rated it 5 stars - it also focused on problem solving and teamwork.
This book is comparable to [b:Mars Rover Curiosity|32686049|Mars Rover Curiosity An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer|Rob Manning|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1479729368l/32686049.SY75.jpg|40017017] and the fictional [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg|21825181], in that each introduces problem, thought process, then resolution. That is definitely a niche I enjoy reading, and if you do also, I would …
Written shortly after the incident, this is a fairly technical timeline of the challenges faced by the crew and ground controllers. The recent Tom Hanks movie educated a new generation about this event, but didn't do as good a job of explaining the solutions and the teamwork involved.
Author Henry S.F. Cooper, a descendant of James Fennimore Cooper, was a prolific science writer. I read his account of the Magellan spacecraft ([b:The Evening Star|1911358|The Evening Star Venus Observed|Henry S.F. Cooper Jr.|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266924830l/1911358.SY75.jpg|1913297]) and rated it 5 stars - it also focused on problem solving and teamwork.
This book is comparable to [b:Mars Rover Curiosity|32686049|Mars Rover Curiosity An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer|Rob Manning|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1479729368l/32686049.SY75.jpg|40017017] and the fictional [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg|21825181], in that each introduces problem, thought process, then resolution. That is definitely a niche I enjoy reading, and if you do also, I would recommend this fairly short book. Now it's time to re-watch the movie :)