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A review by julcoh
Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants by John Drury Clark
3.0
FYI: “Ignition” is now widely available to download online for free in .pdf version.
Any history of science book with a forward written by Isaac Asimov is going on my list, and this one was recommended by a few posters on Reddit.
The story Clark tells is a fascinating one, and he chronicles the long development of rocket fuels in extreme (if academic) detail. Those unschooled in advanced chemistry like myself will find much of the book is over their heads, in terms of the specific compounds and their synthesis, but will find joy in Clark’s dry humor and insight into Government/Defense R&D funding and the wonders of working with highly explosive materials.
Worth the read for those interested, but may bore some. I’ll have to go check out Clark’s fiction.
Any history of science book with a forward written by Isaac Asimov is going on my list, and this one was recommended by a few posters on Reddit.
The story Clark tells is a fascinating one, and he chronicles the long development of rocket fuels in extreme (if academic) detail. Those unschooled in advanced chemistry like myself will find much of the book is over their heads, in terms of the specific compounds and their synthesis, but will find joy in Clark’s dry humor and insight into Government/Defense R&D funding and the wonders of working with highly explosive materials.
Worth the read for those interested, but may bore some. I’ll have to go check out Clark’s fiction.