Look Up: Our story with the stars

by Sarah Cruddas, Michael Collins (Foreword)

Most of us have never been to space. To date, of the more than 100 billion humans that have ever existed, fewer than 600 humans have ever left Earth. But the exploration of space is the most significant thing we will ever do as a species. Sarah Cruddas  has been looking to the skies her entire life. Her childhood was spent staring at the Moon and hearing stories of the space race, and she worked in a fruit factory to fund her love of the subject. Her subsequent career studying astrophysics, and becoming a television host and space journalist has seen her report on space exploration and chase launches across the world. In  Look Up  Sarah explains why she has always been a passionate advocate for why space should matter – to everyone. From our ancestors who first painted patterns of the stars in caves, to the US and Soviet pioneers who first forged a path beyond our planet, Sarah Cruddas explores the stories and sacrifices that humankind has made to understand more about our place in the universe. And even today, when Moon walking and people in space suits seem less relevant to us than climate change and conflicts here on Earth, she shows how everything from medicine to mobile phones is affected by space technology, and how a new generation of entrepreneurs have kick-started a new story with the stars. This is an inspirational and enlightening introduction to the importance of space to everyone, and why we should all learn to Look Up.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2022

Reviews

[Gareth Is Haunted · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Man must rise above the Earth - to the top of the atmosphere and beyond - for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.'

This book reads as a brief history of human discovery and space exploration. From the early discovery of other continents, our first space flight, up to the modern-day and commercial space flight.
It also delves into the effects spending time in space has on us, changing our perspective on what we are doing down here on this beautiful planet and the reasons for space exploration.

Well worth a read if you have an interest in any of these subjects.

Just remember to Look Up!

[Narjes J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has answered questions I didn't think of about space exploration. It is both informative and very enjoyable.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone who has a budding interest in NASA/the space age, or who wants to learn more about the progression of such endeavors, this will be a great book. Cruddas does an excellent job outlining humanity's earliest fascination with the stars and attempts to learn about the night sky above, the role of the night sky in earth-bound travel, and the path that space travel has taken over the last 60 years and where it is headed. And even if it's not a topic you're particularly interested in, Cruddas is able to bring much of it home to the average reader, explaining the myriad ways our lives have been impacted and improved via the technology floating above us and the products made in support of space flight.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[alexa joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is going to be a preliminary review right after having just finished the book after trying to read it for so long.

i borderline hated this book. i had very high hopes in the beginning because the simple description of “our story with the stars” was so alluring. however. the writing (language, phrases like ‘look(ing) up’, philosophical inquiries of our positions in the universe) was SO repetitive. this book could have easily been a hundred pages shorter. i also didn’t appreciate how this was essentially written from a billionaire apologist point of view. i appreciate the optimism and was on board with it at the beginning but it ended up being a little tone deaf by the end.

i have to say that the highlight of this book was really the separate foreword written by Michael Collins.