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A review by rosa_lina96
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.75
As someone who's been interested in space and the accomplishments of NASA for pretty much as long as I can remember, I knew at least basic information about the Challenger disaster, but never in as much depth or so thoroughly as this book. I knew of Adam Higginbotham from his previous Chernobyl book, and had loved that, so I thought this next work of his would be worth diving into. Boy was it ever.
Not only does he introduce the technical details written in a way that the average reader will be able to understand, but he introduces you to the astronauts and provides details about their life in such depth that you're angered when the inevitable accident finally happens. There were so many different ways that the Challenger disaster could have been averted, as you find out within this book. The O-rings and the solid rocket boosters should have been redesigned long before this flight took place. The engineers that came forward should have had their concerns listened to. They should have realized that they had absolutely no business launching ANY piece of technology when it was that record-breakingly cold outside in Florida. By the end of the book, you might want to go back in time and slap a select few NASA officials and engineers. It didn't need to happen.
(In spite of that, though, I still very much admire NASA and their work in aeronautics and space studies, so one can only hope they've learned from their past mistakes.)
The only slight downside to this book is that if you want to read a storyline that doesn't get bogged down by technical details in quite a few places, you should probably look elsewhere for a book about the disaster. The technical jargon is a bit necessary in order to fully understand what went wrong, but I'm mature enough to realize that's not exactly everyone's cup of tea in a nonfiction narrative.
Not only does he introduce the technical details written in a way that the average reader will be able to understand, but he introduces you to the astronauts and provides details about their life in such depth that you're angered when the inevitable accident finally happens. There were so many different ways that the Challenger disaster could have been averted, as you find out within this book. The O-rings and the solid rocket boosters should have been redesigned long before this flight took place. The engineers that came forward should have had their concerns listened to. They should have realized that they had absolutely no business launching ANY piece of technology when it was that record-breakingly cold outside in Florida. By the end of the book, you might want to go back in time and slap a select few NASA officials and engineers. It didn't need to happen.
(In spite of that, though, I still very much admire NASA and their work in aeronautics and space studies, so one can only hope they've learned from their past mistakes.)
The only slight downside to this book is that if you want to read a storyline that doesn't get bogged down by technical details in quite a few places, you should probably look elsewhere for a book about the disaster. The technical jargon is a bit necessary in order to fully understand what went wrong, but I'm mature enough to realize that's not exactly everyone's cup of tea in a nonfiction narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail