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Once Upon a Time in Space
Featuring stunning full-colour photography from both personal collections of astronauts and NASA’s archives, the human story of space is told through intimate and powerful testimonies from the astronauts, scientists, engineers and space tourists who have lived it.
It’s been 63 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever go into space. Since then, only 676 people have followed him up there. But now with huge technological advances bridging the gap between our planet and all that lies beyond, that number is about to rise dramatically.
Once Upon a Time in Space is the human story of how we’ve made it this far – the remarkable achievements, tragic losses, left-field experiments, renegade characters and ever-shifting powerplay – and where we’re about to go.
Looking ahead as we take the first steps towards becoming an interplanetary species, Once Upon a Time in Space brings you closer to the incredible story of our next stage of evolution. Life on Earth will never be the same again.
It’s been 63 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever go into space. Since then, only 676 people have followed him up there. But now with huge technological advances bridging the gap between our planet and all that lies beyond, that number is about to rise dramatically.
Once Upon a Time in Space is the human story of how we’ve made it this far – the remarkable achievements, tragic losses, left-field experiments, renegade characters and ever-shifting powerplay – and where we’re about to go.
Looking ahead as we take the first steps towards becoming an interplanetary species, Once Upon a Time in Space brings you closer to the incredible story of our next stage of evolution. Life on Earth will never be the same again.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 8, 2026
A brilliant book from a more human perspective. It has fascinating interviews with astronauts from several countries to give their own impressions of their journeys into space and what they had to do to get there. There are also interviews with family members and people from behind the scenes but nevertheless essential to getting into space. Of course, there are lots of wonderful photos as well. The overall conclusion is that we must all work together no matter where we come from or what our background is in order to achieve the results that benefit all of us. Essential reading!
March 22, 2026
Absolutely incredible book. The interview are great and very candid. I picked this up randomly from a display at the library and I was surprised how much it impacted me. It details countries working together, accepting many firsts such as the first female astronaut and reinforces that we are all on the same planet together
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews