NASA and the Exploration of Space: With Works from the Nasa Art Collection

by Roger D. Launius

Developed with NASA and the National Air & S pace Museum to coincide with the 40th anniversary of NASA an d John Glenn''s return to space on the Space Shuttle Columbia , this collection of images chronicles the history of the U. S. space programme. '

Genres: Art, Space, Technology, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Dr. Roger D. Launius earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge (American frontier and military history).

Dr. Launius was a civilian historian with the United States Air Force, and became Chief Historian for the Military Airlift Command. Since October 1990 he is Chief Historian for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He is also Senior Curator at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

He is also involved in the study of nineteenth century history and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church).

Reviews

[David Clifton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent coffee table book about the history of NASA with accompanying artwork. However, since is was published in 1998, it seems incomplete (e.g. space shuttle Columbia, International Space Station, Mars rover projects, etc).

Because I enjoyed the history but would have preferred photographs over sketches and paintings, I recommend "Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini: A Rare Photographic History, " by John Bisney and J.L. Pickering (2015).

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a written history of the things NASA has done over the years, the best part of this book is the artwork. From its earliest years, NASA employed artists, and the best artwork is included in this book.