Author Dallas Campbell has pulled together over five hundred photos and graphics to reveal, in six lively chapters, the story of our fascination with what's out there. Space (and there's a lot of it) has intrigued humans for centuries. In chapter two the author suggests that Galileo Galilei was probably the first person to seriously think about what was beyond our planet way back in the early sixteenth century. Isaac Newton continues the theme with writings on gravity and motion, published in 1687. Two, rather obscure people, Percival Lowell and Mary Ward contributed a huge space boost by making telescopes to see into the unknown. Canadian astronomer Sara Seager went one better by using a radio telescope to create theories of planetary science.
Chapter three considers the pioneers of rocket science and the US/USSR space race. Despite the work of Werner Von Braun for the Americans the Russian, Yuri Gagarin, was the first person in space. With the creation of NASA in 1958 landing on the moon became a priority for the US. There are several fascinating pages in chapter four about making space suits with plenty of photos. Page 198 has a picture of a lady using an old fashioned Singer sewing machine stitching a suit of aluminized plastic.
As humans managed to conquer space ("...one small step for mankind") chapter five wonders if there is life out there and how to make contact. Astronomer Jill Tarter helped found SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) which has continuously listened and looked for the slightest bit of evidence of something living. The book ends with a chapter about space dreamers. The subject is now part of popular culture and the commercial concerns of Musk and Bezos. In past decades it was only the State that could afford the millions and millions.
I thought the book was an excellent read though well chosen images (all captioned) probably take up more than sixty percent of the pages
