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Inspired by the $25,000 prize that Charles Lindbergh won for being the first aviator to cross the Atlantic nonstop, entrepreneur Peter Diamandis proposed in 1996 a $10 million award for the first privately built vehicle that could launch a human into space and then reuse the same craft to repeat the mission within two weeks. Julian Guthrie takes readers along on the rollicking race that ensued among contenders in How to Make a Spaceship (Penguin Press, 432 pages, $28)<b>.</b> The author follows the quests of several hopeful engineers, inventors and aviators but focuses mainly on the 2004 winner, SpaceShipOne, backed by aviation designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Ms. Guthrie's tale is sometimes tragic, but ultimately it is an uplifting one that will appeal to adventure junkies as well as to those who prize free-market solutions to monumental challenges. -- <i>Wall Street Journal</i> Guthrie has a gift of building suspense around these airborne incidents of inherent drama -- such as a balloon flight gone wildly wrong that ends in a botched parachute jump -- as well as larger questions about space, technology and life's purpose . . . How to Make a Spaceship is . . . ultimately flight-worthy and impressively ambitious. When the history of 21st century American space efforts is written decades or centuries from now, this book will be a valuable contemporary record of what it was like when humanity was trying to break out of its home. - <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> [<i>How to Make a Spaceship</i>] reads like a thriller. The story sounds incredible, as if torn from the pages of science fiction. And it has a happy ending. But as with all entrepreneurial ventures, nothing went according to plan: It was riddled with failure and disappointment; ugly battles broke out between friends and founders; the world often looked like it was coming to an end; and Diamandis had to gamble everything he had. Most interesting was an observation that [Richard] Branson made in the book's foreword: There isn't much of a difference between being an adventurer and an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you push the limits and try to protect the downside. As an adventurer, you push the limits, and protect the downside -- which can be your life. --Vivkek Wadhwa, <i>Washington Post If you admire<b> </b>those who aim really high, <i>How to Make a Spaceship</i> belongs on your bookshelf. [It] offers a rousing anthem to the urge to explore. --<i>Wall Street Journal</i> <i> </i> [<i>How to Make a Spaceship</i>] includes enough death-defying stunts, madcap schemes, wild coincidences, and rousing redemptive moments to fuel a dozen Hollywood blockbusters. --Wired.com When the history of 21st century American space efforts is written decades or centuries from now, this book will be a valuable contemporary record of what it was like when humanity was trying to break out of its home. --<i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> If readers are looking for scientific discussions, humorous anecdotes, and intense action, Guthrie covers those. The flights are written to make readers feel like they're experiencing them in real time, nerves and all. --<i>Publishers Weekly <b> </b>Engaging... Just the thing for aspiring astronauts and rocketeers. --<i>Kirkus</i> I don't know how Julian Guthrie does it. In her last book, she didn't race in the America's Cup, yet readers felt they had. And now in <i>How to Make a Spaceship</i>, although she wasn't strapped into the cockpit of the first civilian spacecraft to rocket into outer space, her vivid writing places readers right there. With the flair of a novelist and the precision of a fine journalist, she takes readers on a journey not just into space but into the hearts and minds of the adventurers who dare go where NASA no longer does. Her tale will quicken your pulse. --Ken Auletta, author of <i>Googled: The End of the World as We Know It The story of Peter Diamandis is a reminder of the power of passion and persistence. <i>How to Make a Spaceship</i> chronicles the amazing journey of a key figure in the private race to space--a dreamer who, in the face of multiple setbacks and naysayers, simply refused to let go of his dream. --Arianna Huffington, author, cofounder of <i>The Huffington Post Too few kids and young adults understand the power of science and technology. We need role models demonstrating the power of passion and perseverance to make dreams come true. <i>How to Make a Spaceship</i> is filled with innovators and doers. The story will inspire makers of all ages. --Dean Kamen, inventor, entrepreneur, founder of FIRST Robotics This incredible book is <i>The Right Stuff</i> with afterburners. Intrepid designers and innovators risk their reputations. Gutsy test pilots risk their lives. Explorers push new boundaries of what so many once thought was impossible. All brought together by a real gravity-defying force, Peter Diamandis. <i>How to Make a Spaceship</i> is required reading for anyone who cares about space, aviation, and the future of flight. --Captain Mark Kelly (USN, Ret.), former naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut This outstanding and compelling book shows the power of one man's vision, and the ability of small teams to accomplish extraordinary things. How to Make a Spaceship will inspire and guide you to take on your own Moonshot. --Ray Kurzweil, Inventor, Author, Futurist and Chancellor, Singularity University [An] engaging account of the race to get a rocket up to the Karman line without getting NASA involved....Just the thing for aspiring astronauts and rocketeers. --<i>Kirkus Reviews</i>

If you admire those who aim really high, How to Make a Spaceship belongs on your bookshelf. [It] offers a rousing anthem to the urge to explore. --Wall Street Journal Guthrie has a gift of building suspense around these airborne incidents of inherent drama--such as a balloon flight gone wildly wrong that ends in a botched parachute jump--as well as larger questions about space, technology and life's purpose . . . How to Make a Spaceship is . . . ultimately flight-worthy and impressively ambitious. When the history of 21st century American space efforts is written decades or centuries from now, this book will be a valuable contemporary record of what it was like when humanity was trying to break out of its home. --San Francisco Chronicle [How to Make a Spaceship] reads like a thriller. The story sounds incredible, as if torn from the pages of science fiction. And it has a happy ending. But as with all entrepreneurial ventures, nothing went according to plan: It was riddled with failure and disappointment; ugly battles broke out between friends and founders; the world often looked like it was coming to an end; and Diamandis had to gamble everything he had. --Vivkek Wadhwa, Washington Post [How to Make a Spaceship] includes enough death-defying stunts, madcap schemes, wild coincidences, and rousing redemptive moments to fuel a dozen Hollywood blockbusters. --Wired.com Ms. Guthrie's tale is sometimes tragic, but ultimately it is an uplifting one that will appeal to adventure junkies as well as to those who prize free-market solutions to monumental challenges. --Wall Street Journal If readers are looking for scientific discussions, humorous anecdotes, and intense action, Guthrie covers those. The flights are written to make readers feel like they're experiencing them in real time, nerves and all. --Publishers Weekly Engaging... Just the thing for aspiring astronauts and rocketeers. --Kirkus I don't know how Julian Guthrie does it. In her last book, she didn't race in the America's Cup, yet readers felt they had. And now in How to Make a Spaceship, although she wasn't strapped into the cockpit of the first civilian spacecraft to rocket into outer space, her vivid writing places readers right there. With the flair of a novelist and the precision of a fine journalist, she takes readers on a journey not just into space but into the hearts and minds of the adventurers who dare go where NASA no longer does. Her tale will quicken your pulse. --Ken Auletta, author of Googled: The End of the World as We Know It The story of Peter Diamandis is a reminder of the power of passion and persistence. How to Make a Spaceship chronicles the amazing journey of a key figure in the private race to space--a dreamer who, in the face of multiple setbacks and naysayers, simply refused to let go of his dream. --Arianna Huffington, author, cofounder of The Huffington Post Too few kids and young adults understand the power of science and technology. We need role models demonstrating the power of passion and perseverance to make dreams come true. How to Make a Spaceship is filled with innovators and doers. The story will inspire makers of all ages. --Dean Kamen, inventor, entrepreneur, founder of FIRST Robotics This incredible book is The Right Stuff with afterburners. Intrepid designers and innovators risk their reputations. Gutsy test pilots risk their lives. Explorers push new boundaries of what so many once thought was impossible. All brought together by a real gravity-defying force, Peter Diamandis. How to Make a Spaceship is required reading for anyone who cares about space, aviation, and the future of flight. --Captain Mark Kelly (USN, Ret.), former naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut This outstanding and compelling book shows the power of one man's vision, and the ability of small teams to accomplish extraordinary things. How to Make a Spaceship will inspire and guide you to take on your own Moonshot. --Ray Kurzweil, Inventor, Author, Futurist and Chancellor, Singularity University [An] engaging account of the race to get a rocket up to the Karman line without getting NASA involved....Just the thing for aspiring astronauts and rocketeers. --Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Julian Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who spent twenty years at the San Francisco Chronicle and has been published by The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Huffington Post, and others. She is the author of The Billionaire and the Mechanic, a bestselling account of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s pursuit of the America’s Cup, and of The Grace of Everyday Saints, the story of the longest parish protest in Catholic America.

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