Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Graywolf Press (2015), Paperback, 240 pages
Description
Leaving Orbit takes the measure of what American spaceflight has achieved while reckoning with its earlier witnesses, such as Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Oriana Fallaci. Along the way, Dean meets NASA workers, astronauts, and space fans, gathering possible answers to the question: What does it mean that a spacefaring nation won't be going to space anymore? An elegy to the waning days of human spaceflight as we have known it.
Media reviews
At times, Ms. Dean overdoes the Mailer references, comparing her observations about NASA to those he once made, her point of view to his. Her repeated taking of her own emotional temperature grows increasingly mannered as the book progresses — and imitative of Mr. Mailer’s in a way that serves
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only to underscore his original and utterly distinctive vision and voice.
When Ms. Dean simply lets her own love for spaceflight shine through, however, the result is a heartfelt paean to, and elegy for, a remarkable collective undertaking. She captures both the science and poetry of NASA’s missions, and the romance of space travel, which dates back centuries, and was imagined in fiction like Jules Verne’s 1865 classic “From the Earth to the Moon.” (In the early 20th century, she says, the Verne novel provided inspiration for three men working independently in three different countries, developing similar ideas about using rockets for space travel.) Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member kaylaraeintheway
Like me, Margaret Lazarus Dean was enamored by space and spaceflight. The fact that we sent men into space with less technological power than what is in our smartphones is amazing! But spaceflight, and NASA as an organization, has always been on the outskirts of American life, even during the
When it was announced that the shuttle program was going to be discontinued, and that American spaceflight was going to end as we knew it, those who believed in the shuttle missions (and the American exploration of space) were understandable hurt and angry. There were others who celebrated the decision, saying that the government was giving NASA too much money anyway to explore space when there were so many problems down here on Earth (the fact that NASA's budget was less than 4% of the total budget for the country was apparently lost on them).
The final missions of space shuttles Discovery, Endeavor, and Atlantis were completed in 2011, and Margaret Lazarus Dean was there for all of them. I'm so glad she chose to write about her experience, the history of spaceflight, and what is means that shuttle is ending (her thesis, if you will, of her book), because I have found a kindred spirit in Margaret. She is completely in awe of NASA - the engineers, astronauts, and other thousands of workers who made spaceflight possible. She fangirls all over Buzz Aldrin when she gets to interview him for a book festival (same, girl. Same). And she is determined to find the reason why spaceflight, which seemed to have captured so many people's hearts and imaginations at some point in American history, has come to an end. I found myself underlining many passages, whether because I agreed with a point she was making or because she captured the awesomeness of spaceflight so remarkably.
I love books about space. This one wrote about the ending of (in my opinion) a great space program in a way that, if only everyone could read it, would cause the Powers That Be to think twice about ending the shuttle program. I'm going to read her fiction novel about the Challenger explosion (The Time it Takes to Fall) soon, and with great interest. I shall also be on the lookout for the works she referenced in this book, specifically works by Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Oriana Fallaci.
I fear this review isn't doing the book justice, so I'll end on this note: read it. If you love space and spaceflight, or if you have a passing interest in it, or if you just love really good creative non-fiction, you must read this book.
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patriotic days of the Mercury missions. There has always been a question of cost, and, with the Challenger and Columbia disasters, the safety of the astronauts. When it was announced that the shuttle program was going to be discontinued, and that American spaceflight was going to end as we knew it, those who believed in the shuttle missions (and the American exploration of space) were understandable hurt and angry. There were others who celebrated the decision, saying that the government was giving NASA too much money anyway to explore space when there were so many problems down here on Earth (the fact that NASA's budget was less than 4% of the total budget for the country was apparently lost on them).
The final missions of space shuttles Discovery, Endeavor, and Atlantis were completed in 2011, and Margaret Lazarus Dean was there for all of them. I'm so glad she chose to write about her experience, the history of spaceflight, and what is means that shuttle is ending (her thesis, if you will, of her book), because I have found a kindred spirit in Margaret. She is completely in awe of NASA - the engineers, astronauts, and other thousands of workers who made spaceflight possible. She fangirls all over Buzz Aldrin when she gets to interview him for a book festival (same, girl. Same). And she is determined to find the reason why spaceflight, which seemed to have captured so many people's hearts and imaginations at some point in American history, has come to an end. I found myself underlining many passages, whether because I agreed with a point she was making or because she captured the awesomeness of spaceflight so remarkably.
I love books about space. This one wrote about the ending of (in my opinion) a great space program in a way that, if only everyone could read it, would cause the Powers That Be to think twice about ending the shuttle program. I'm going to read her fiction novel about the Challenger explosion (The Time it Takes to Fall) soon, and with great interest. I shall also be on the lookout for the works she referenced in this book, specifically works by Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe, and Oriana Fallaci.
I fear this review isn't doing the book justice, so I'll end on this note: read it. If you love space and spaceflight, or if you have a passing interest in it, or if you just love really good creative non-fiction, you must read this book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member chrisblocker
"...I have come to feel that the end of the space shuttle is going to be the ending of a story, the story of one of the truly great things my country has accomplished, and that I want to be the one to tell it." (39)
For some reason, I associate spaceflight with the month of February. I'm not sure
I don't have the same love for spaceflight that Margaret Lazarus Dean does. I am amazed by the cosmos. I appreciate the beauty of the universe and of stars and planets. It is the majesty of space that I love. Space vehicles in and of themselves do nothing to excite me. That said, I always thought the shuttle was a majestic vehicle. Unlike the rockets before it which ripped apart the sky and penetrated the exosphere, the shuttle was a graceful and beautiful bird that merely skirted space. Unlike the gruff military men of 1960s spaceflight, the astronauts of the shuttle were men and women of the sciences and engineering. Apollo delivered gray lifeless stones. The shuttles set into motion the objects that sent back images of distant galaxies, images that far exceeded our expectations.
So I may not be the target audience for this book. Certainly, I have a greater appreciation for the shuttle than perhaps the average person, but I have no strong opinion about the likes of Aldrin. Even so, I really enjoyed Leaving Orbit. Dean gorgeously unpacks the history of spaceflight throughout this book. It's a wonderful blend of expert research and personal reflection. Leaving Orbit is the story of spaceflight, but it is also the story of Dean's love for spaceflight. This is unlike any work of non-fiction I've read before because it's clear that the author pours her heart into every page. She is incredibly passionate about the topic. Leaving Orbit is a eulogy for not only the shuttle, but modern spaceflight in general, and it is written by someone who knew and loved the deceased very much.
Dean's love for all-things NASA is so great that it could easily be called a religion. She makes pilgrimages, studies the holy works, and offers sacrifices. But Leaving Orbit's appeal wanes in those moments when the author becomes overly evangelical. When she attempts to explain away the doubters, the book becomes less about the glorious experience of spaceflight and more about the argument. Look, I've had doubts about the feasibility of humans traveling 240,000 miles in a metal cone with a twelve-foot diameter and a computer with less memory than the flash drive in my pocket. Even more unbelievable is the fact that without any previous experience, truly accurate data or test runs, they were able to get off the surface of the moon and return to earth. Honestly, it would be much more believable if the first two or three missions failed to return. It's natural for any intelligent person to question. All religion asks us to do is move a mountain from time to time. We either have the faith to believe in the impossible or we do not. Apollo is no different from any other god.
Despite these few hiccups, Leaving Orbit is such a stupendous read. Even though it is bursting with so many marvelous facts, I wanted more. I watched the launch videos. I read the official reports. I developed a greater appreciation for spaceflight in general. And it wasn't enough. My heart was broken for those who've invested their lives into the space program, and I hope against hope that one day the program will soar again.
For some reason, I associate spaceflight with the month of February. I'm not sure
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why. I tried to unpack this reasoning as I read Leaving Orbit, but I cannot say there is any cause for my association. Perhaps it is because when I think of spaceflight, I think of Challenger. I was only six at the time of the explosion. We didn't watch the launch in my first grade classroom—I recall little talk of it beforehand—though neighboring, older classes were watching that day. I remember a teacher from one of those classes came into the room, whispered to my teacher who responded with a gasp. She cautiously announced the accident to the class. We watched this strange adult behavior with awe for only a couple minutes, then returned to coloring our paper coins copper and silver. By the time I unpacked and processed what had happened during the January launch it may have been February. Perhaps this is the reason for my association. Maybe none of this matters, but each February since this book has been published, I have set it on my reading table only to put it off for one more year. I don't have the same love for spaceflight that Margaret Lazarus Dean does. I am amazed by the cosmos. I appreciate the beauty of the universe and of stars and planets. It is the majesty of space that I love. Space vehicles in and of themselves do nothing to excite me. That said, I always thought the shuttle was a majestic vehicle. Unlike the rockets before it which ripped apart the sky and penetrated the exosphere, the shuttle was a graceful and beautiful bird that merely skirted space. Unlike the gruff military men of 1960s spaceflight, the astronauts of the shuttle were men and women of the sciences and engineering. Apollo delivered gray lifeless stones. The shuttles set into motion the objects that sent back images of distant galaxies, images that far exceeded our expectations.
So I may not be the target audience for this book. Certainly, I have a greater appreciation for the shuttle than perhaps the average person, but I have no strong opinion about the likes of Aldrin. Even so, I really enjoyed Leaving Orbit. Dean gorgeously unpacks the history of spaceflight throughout this book. It's a wonderful blend of expert research and personal reflection. Leaving Orbit is the story of spaceflight, but it is also the story of Dean's love for spaceflight. This is unlike any work of non-fiction I've read before because it's clear that the author pours her heart into every page. She is incredibly passionate about the topic. Leaving Orbit is a eulogy for not only the shuttle, but modern spaceflight in general, and it is written by someone who knew and loved the deceased very much.
Dean's love for all-things NASA is so great that it could easily be called a religion. She makes pilgrimages, studies the holy works, and offers sacrifices. But Leaving Orbit's appeal wanes in those moments when the author becomes overly evangelical. When she attempts to explain away the doubters, the book becomes less about the glorious experience of spaceflight and more about the argument. Look, I've had doubts about the feasibility of humans traveling 240,000 miles in a metal cone with a twelve-foot diameter and a computer with less memory than the flash drive in my pocket. Even more unbelievable is the fact that without any previous experience, truly accurate data or test runs, they were able to get off the surface of the moon and return to earth. Honestly, it would be much more believable if the first two or three missions failed to return. It's natural for any intelligent person to question. All religion asks us to do is move a mountain from time to time. We either have the faith to believe in the impossible or we do not. Apollo is no different from any other god.
Despite these few hiccups, Leaving Orbit is such a stupendous read. Even though it is bursting with so many marvelous facts, I wanted more. I watched the launch videos. I read the official reports. I developed a greater appreciation for spaceflight in general. And it wasn't enough. My heart was broken for those who've invested their lives into the space program, and I hope against hope that one day the program will soar again.
Show Less
Awards
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2015)
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Nonfiction — 2015)
Language
ISBN
155597709X / 9781555977092
Local notes
Science