Speaking Volumes: Celebrate NASA’s 60th anniversary at your Manatee County library
On July 29, 1958, Congress passed legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NASA has sponsored space expeditions that have yielded information about the solar system, weather forecasting and global communications. President John F. Kennedy declared that America should put a man on the moon committing America to winning the space race.
From the first moon walk by Neil Armstrong to the construction of the International Space Station, NASA has continued to make great advances in space exploration, despite setbacks.
“Rocket Men, The Epic Story of the First Men on The Moon” by Robert Kurson is the inside story of three astronauts — Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders — who were the first men in history to go to the Moon.
In August 1968, NASA took a bold leap in the space race, making the decision to launch Apollo 8 to take men to the moon. This real-life thriller is drawn from hundreds of hours of interviews with the astronauts, their families and NASA personnel, and is filled with unforgettable details that reveal the epic dangers involved, and the bravery it took for mankind to leave Earth.
“Too Far From Home” by Chris Jones is a true-life adventure story set in outer space and vividly captures the hazardous reality of space travel.
On Feb. 1, 2003, when the Columbia exploded, the public remained unaware that three men remained orbiting the earth and had just lost their ride home. The beleaguered mission controls in Houston and Moscow worked frantically against the clock to bring their men back to earth. This is a beautifully written and incredible saga of the trip home.
“An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth” by Col. Chris Hadfield takes the reader deep into years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. While logging nearly 4000 hours in space, Col. Hadfield broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft.
Using eye-opening and entertaining stories, his refreshing insights will teach you how to think like an astronaut, and will change the way you view life on Earth.
“Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery” is a personal memoir by Scott Kelly the astronaut and hero who spent a record breaking year aboard the International Space station.
Kelly, a veteran of four spaceflights, has experienced things few have, the extreme challenge of long-term spaceflight, the devastating effects on the body, the isolation from everyone he loves, and the comforts of Earth. His is a clear message of hope for the future that will inspire generations to come.
Find out more at mymanatee.org/library.
Cathy Habora is a staff member at the Braden River Branch Library. Speaking Volumes, written by Manatee County Public Library System staff members, is published each Sunday in the Bradenton Herald.