Items related to Back to the Moon
A renegade rocket man haunted by his past. A beautiful daredevil who thinks she can do it all--until she finds herself on the adventure of her life. A death-defying mission so risky, so audacious that no one would try it...unless the fate of the world depended on its success.
Thirty years after man's first lunar landing, retired NASA engineer Homer Hickam, Jr., offers a brilliantly imagined, endlessly entertaining return to space adventure in his spectacular first novel, Back to the Moon. In his bestselling memoir, Rocket Boys, Hickam memorably evoked our captivation with our nation's first halting ventures into space. Now he reminds us of the long-lost wonder with which we once watched America's conquest of the moon--and celebrated the triumph of mind, soul, and spirit that got us there--in this page-turning tale of the first moon shot of the new millennium.
Jack Medaris doesn't "borrow" the space shuttle Columbia to be a hero or a villain. A man of science driven by the memory of the woman who once inspired him, Jack risks his life, his name, and everything he has, to sidetrack the shuttle crew and take her on an unscheduled detour to the moon, where the secrets of his past--and the future of the world--await him. But when the meticulously plotted launch goes fatally wrong, and payload specialist Penny High Eagle further complicates Jack's plan, he must confront unforeseen challenges both in space and on the ground, where deadly forces are amassing to prevent the Columbia from reaching the moon.
Writing with the detail and intelligence that only an insider could have, Hickam takes us to places few have ever seen, strapping us into the cockpit of the shuttle and hurtling us into orbit and beyond. From the crackling tension of mission control to the savage emptiness of deep space, from the massive rocket engines capable of generating millions of pounds of thrust to the tiny killing machines awaiting a bygone era's orders to unleash their high-tech fury, here are the sights and science of space as you've never seen them before. Here, too, are the men and women of unfailing invention and intelligence who are soon caught up in the story: astronauts and attorneys, physicists and politicians, unsung heroes behind the scenes and shadowy agents of darkness behind the veil of history. And at the spiraling tale's isolated center are Jack and Penny, locked in a battle of wit and wills, rocketing weightless through space as their fates grow inextricably intertwined.
A no-holds-barred joyride of a thriller, Back to the Moon confirms that Homer Hickam is a master storyteller like no other, spinning a tale of high-flying adventure while expertly navigating the vast expanses of both the far-flung universe and the human heart.
Thirty years after man's first lunar landing, retired NASA engineer Homer Hickam, Jr., offers a brilliantly imagined, endlessly entertaining return to space adventure in his spectacular first novel, Back to the Moon. In his bestselling memoir, Rocket Boys, Hickam memorably evoked our captivation with our nation's first halting ventures into space. Now he reminds us of the long-lost wonder with which we once watched America's conquest of the moon--and celebrated the triumph of mind, soul, and spirit that got us there--in this page-turning tale of the first moon shot of the new millennium.
Jack Medaris doesn't "borrow" the space shuttle Columbia to be a hero or a villain. A man of science driven by the memory of the woman who once inspired him, Jack risks his life, his name, and everything he has, to sidetrack the shuttle crew and take her on an unscheduled detour to the moon, where the secrets of his past--and the future of the world--await him. But when the meticulously plotted launch goes fatally wrong, and payload specialist Penny High Eagle further complicates Jack's plan, he must confront unforeseen challenges both in space and on the ground, where deadly forces are amassing to prevent the Columbia from reaching the moon.
Writing with the detail and intelligence that only an insider could have, Hickam takes us to places few have ever seen, strapping us into the cockpit of the shuttle and hurtling us into orbit and beyond. From the crackling tension of mission control to the savage emptiness of deep space, from the massive rocket engines capable of generating millions of pounds of thrust to the tiny killing machines awaiting a bygone era's orders to unleash their high-tech fury, here are the sights and science of space as you've never seen them before. Here, too, are the men and women of unfailing invention and intelligence who are soon caught up in the story: astronauts and attorneys, physicists and politicians, unsung heroes behind the scenes and shadowy agents of darkness behind the veil of history. And at the spiraling tale's isolated center are Jack and Penny, locked in a battle of wit and wills, rocketing weightless through space as their fates grow inextricably intertwined.
A no-holds-barred joyride of a thriller, Back to the Moon confirms that Homer Hickam is a master storyteller like no other, spinning a tale of high-flying adventure while expertly navigating the vast expanses of both the far-flung universe and the human heart.
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From the Author:
Back to the Moon is meant to entertain...
... although it has a serious purpose, that of bringing alive the real personalities of people engaged in the present-day space business. It was also written somewhat in parallel with Rocket Boys (aka October Sky) to allow me a place as a writer to offset the soul-searching required to write the successful memoir. With Back to the Moon, I was able to simply enjoy telling a wild tale but one that was also set very solidly in scientific and engineering fact. All the events in this book could happen from an engineering standpoint. It is indeed feasible to outfit a shuttle to the moon - in fact, nearly anything can be sent to the moon if a large enough rocket engine is attached to it. Jack, Penny, Virgil, Paco, Sam and all the rest of the characters in this book have real-life counterparts that I've met during my years working in space. To compare this work to my memoir, however, is to miss the point of both works: The memoir came from my heart and soul, the techno-thriller from my imagination. Each should be approached as individual works. Any author who allows himself to be constrained to one type of writing is asking for trouble creatively and professionally. Approach Back to the Moon for what it is: a good read meant to entertain and, just perhaps, enlighten as to the possibilities of drama, fun and adventure in space.
... although it has a serious purpose, that of bringing alive the real personalities of people engaged in the present-day space business. It was also written somewhat in parallel with Rocket Boys (aka October Sky) to allow me a place as a writer to offset the soul-searching required to write the successful memoir. With Back to the Moon, I was able to simply enjoy telling a wild tale but one that was also set very solidly in scientific and engineering fact. All the events in this book could happen from an engineering standpoint. It is indeed feasible to outfit a shuttle to the moon - in fact, nearly anything can be sent to the moon if a large enough rocket engine is attached to it. Jack, Penny, Virgil, Paco, Sam and all the rest of the characters in this book have real-life counterparts that I've met during my years working in space. To compare this work to my memoir, however, is to miss the point of both works: The memoir came from my heart and soul, the techno-thriller from my imagination. Each should be approached as individual works. Any author who allows himself to be constrained to one type of writing is asking for trouble creatively and professionally. Approach Back to the Moon for what it is: a good read meant to entertain and, just perhaps, enlighten as to the possibilities of drama, fun and adventure in space.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherDelacorte Pr
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0440334179
- ISBN 13 9780440334170
- BindingPaperback
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Back to the Moon
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Delacorte Pr
(2000)
ISBN 10: 0440334179
ISBN 13: 9780440334170
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