Overview
Shattered Dreams delves into the personal stories and recollections of several men and women who were in line to fly a specific or future space mission but lost that opportunity due to personal reasons, mission cancellations, or even tragedies. While some of the subjects are familiar names in spaceflight history, the accounts of others are told here for the first time. Colin Burgess features spaceflight candidates from the United States, Russia, Indonesia, Australia, and Great Britain. Shattered Dreams brings to new life such episodes and upheavals in spaceflight history as the saga of the three Apollo missions that were cancelled due to budgetary constraints and never flew; NASA astronaut Patricia Hilliard Robertson, who died of burn injuries after her airplane crashed before she had a chance to fly into space; and a female cosmonaut who might have become the first journalist to fly in space. Another NASA astronaut was preparing to fly an Apollo mission before he was diagnosed with a disqualifying illness. There is also the amazing story of the pilot who could have bailed out of his damaged aircraft but held off while heroically avoiding a populated area and later applied to NASA to fulfill his cherished dream of becoming an astronaut despite having lost both legs in the accident. These are the incredibly human stories of competitive realists fired with an unquenchable passion. Their accounts reveal in their own words-and those of others close to them-how their shared ambition would go awry through personal accidents, illness, the Challenger disaster, death, or other circumstances.
Full Product Details
Author: Colin Burgess ,
Don Thomas
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Imprint: University of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9781496206756
ISBN 10: 1496206754
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 May 2019
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
My father, Ted Freeman, a newly appointed astronaut, died in an accident only one year into living his dream of flying to the moon. Colin Burgess told my father's story in his wonderful book, Fallen Astronauts, and this latest, similarly magnificent book explores the lives and achievements of other individuals who also lost that rare chance of venturing into the mysteries and wonders of space. Another great book by an outstanding author. -Faith (Freeman) Johnson, daughter of Capt. Theodore Cordy Freeman, USAF, NASA astronaut -- Faith (Freeman) Johnson Have you ever read a book that is so wonderful you tell everyone he or she must read it? This is just such a book, one that is at times fascinating, revealing, and inspirational. I found myself becoming emotionally involved in the real-life stories and dramas of these truly amazing men and women. Definitely a book to read and treasure. -Dee O'Hara, nurse to the first astronauts -- Dee O'Hara An overdue and moving account of the almost-astronauts, a group of extraordinary people who came tantalizingly close to leaving Earth and seeing our planet from orbit. An important contribution to the history of human space exploration. -Robert Pearlman, space historian and editor of collectSPACE.com -- Robert Pearlman
"""We are used to celebrating heroes who have achieved great things. This book helps us to realize that we should also celebrate those unsung heroes who continue to strive toward great things even if they are not able to reach their initial goals.""—James R. Zimbelman, Quest “An overdue and moving account of the almost-astronauts, a group of extraordinary people who came tantalizingly close to leaving Earth and seeing our planet from orbit. An important contribution to the history of human space exploration.”—Robert Pearlman, space historian and editor of collectSPACE.com “Have you ever read a book that is so wonderful you tell everyone he or she must read it? This is just such a book, one that is at times fascinating, revealing, and inspirational. I found myself becoming emotionally involved in the real-life stories and dramas of these truly amazing men and women. Definitely a book to read and treasure.”—Dee O’Hara, nurse to the first astronauts “My father, Ted Freeman, a newly appointed astronaut, died in an accident only one year into living his dream of flying to the moon. Colin Burgess told my father’s story in his wonderful book, Fallen Astronauts, and this latest, similarly magnificent book explores the lives and achievements of other individuals who also lost that rare chance of venturing into the mysteries and wonders of space. Another great book by an outstanding author.”—Faith (Freeman) Johnson, daughter of Capt. Theodore Cordy Freeman, USAF, NASA astronaut"
Author Information
Colin Burgess is the author of several books on spaceflight, including Faith 7: L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., and the Final Mercury Mission; Footprints in the Dust: The Epic Voyages of Apollo, 1969–1975 (Nebraska, 2010); and Teacher in Space: Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger Legacy (Nebraska, 2000). Don Thomas was a NASA mission specialist on missions STS-65, STS-70, STS-83, and STS-94.
