On This Page
Description
Traces the history of mankind's venture into outer space from the first attempts at flight to the sending of human beings to the moon.Tags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Member Reviews
This is really about the challenges of getting into outer space and the gradual realization that you couldn't fly to the moon because there is no air there. Chapter 1 is all about flight: myths, science fiction, balloons, dirigibles, gliders, and airplanes. Chapter 2 is about the discovery that the air didn't go on forever. The first barometer is invented and Jules Verne sends his astronauts to the moon by means of a cannon. It would have worked, but the acceleration would have killed them. Chapter 3 is about the principles of rocketry which does, in fact, work just fine in a vacuum. Chapter 4 introduces serious work on liquid-fueled rockets by Goddard and the amateur rocket society in Germany. All this culminates in the v2 German show more rockets. Chapter 5 brings us to the 1977 space age and thoughts of the future. Very clear and well-constructed. show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Children's Books About Science and Math
461 works; 12 members
Author Information
2,400+ Works 293,077 Members
Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, on January 2, 1920. His family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they owned and operated a candy store. Asimov became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of eight. As a youngster he discovered his talent for writing, producing his first original fiction at show more the age of eleven. He went on to become one of the world's most prolific writers, publishing nearly 500 books in his lifetime. Asimov was not only a writer; he also was a biochemist and an educator. He studied chemistry at Columbia University, earning a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. In 1951, Asimov accepted a position as an instructor of biochemistry at Boston University's School of Medicine even though he had no practical experience in the field. His exceptional intelligence enabled him to master new systems rapidly, and he soon became a successful and distinguished professor at Columbia and even co-authored a biochemistry textbook within a few years. Asimov won numerous awards and honors for his books and stories, and he is considered to be a leading writer of the Golden Age of science fiction. While he did not invent science fiction, he helped to legitimize it by adding the narrative structure that had been missing from the traditional science fiction books of the period. He also introduced several innovative concepts, including the thematic concern for technological progress and its impact on humanity. Asimov is probably best known for his Foundation series, which includes Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. In 1966, this trilogy won the Hugo award for best all-time science fiction series. In 1983, Asimov wrote an additional Foundation novel, Foundation's Edge, which won the Hugo for best novel of that year. Asimov also wrote a series of robot books that included I, Robot, and eventually he tied the two series together. He won three additional Hugos, including one awarded posthumously for the best non-fiction book of 1995, I. Asimov. "Nightfall" was chosen the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1979, Asimov wrote his autobiography, In Memory Yet Green. He continued writing until just a few years before his death from heart and kidney failure on April 6, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Daedalus; Icarus; Joseph Montgolfier; Jaques Montgolfier; Jaques Charles; Ferdinand von Zeppelin (show all 26); Orville Wright; Wilbur Wright; Charles A. Lindbergh; Evangelista Torricelli; Jules Verne; Isaac Newton; Hermann Ganswindt; William Congreve; Francis Scott Key; Cyrano de Bergerac; Konstantin Tsiolkovsky; Robert Goddard; Hermann Oberth; Willy Ley; Werner von Braun; Adolf Hitler; Yuri Gagarin; John H. Glenn, Jr.; Neil Armstrong; Gerard O'Neill
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Kids, Tween
- DDC/MDS
- 919.904 — History & geography Geography & travel Geography of and travel in Australasia, Pacific Ocean islands, Atlantic Ocean islands, Arctic islands, Antarctica and on extraterrestrial worlds Extraterrestrial regions
- LCC
- QB500 .A84 — Science Astronomy Astronomy Descriptive astronomy Solar system
Statistics
- Members
- 35
- Popularity
- 817,224
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.50)
- Languages
- English, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 6
