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Children - Transportation, Children - Science & Technology
To Space and Back by Sally Ride — book cover

To Space and Back

by Sally Ride, Susan Okie
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Overview

Much has been written about the vast scientific importance of space exploration, but very little about the human side of being a member of an astronaut crew. In this book, with the help of journalist Susan Okie, Sally Ride shares the personal experience of traveling into space.America's first woman astronaut answers questions most frequently asked about a journey through space.

Describes in text and photographs what it is like to be an astronaut on the space shuttle. Includes a glossary of terms.

Synopsis

Much has been written about the vast scientific importance of space exploration, but very little about the human side of being a member of an astronaut crew. In this book, with the help of journalist Susan Okie, Sally Ride shares the personal experience of traveling into space.America's first woman astronaut answers questions most frequently asked about a journey through space.

Washington Post Book World

The book succeeds in helping us imagine the unimaginable—what it really feels like to blast off in a rocket and float effortlessly in midair while circling hundreds of miles above the earth.

About the Author, Sally Ride

Susan Okie has known Sally Ride since they were students together at Westlake School. She remembers her as a "fleet-footed fourteen-year-old with a self-confident grin" who was her academic rival. They have remained close friends, even though their lives have taken them in different directions. Susan Okie also attended Swarthmore College and later went to Radcliffe, from which she graduated with a degree in biology. She received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1978. She now works as a medical journalist for the Washington Post.

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Editorials

Washington Post Book World

The book succeeds in helping us imagine the unimaginable—what it really feels like to blast off in a rocket and float effortlessly in midair while circling hundreds of miles above the earth.

Chicago Tribune

This book is an important contribution to all that has been written about space travel, for it is a vivid description of the human side of exploring the unknown.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

A personal approach to what too often seems too far away, this will inspire young readers with the heights of adventure to which an interest in science can take ordinary people like themselves.

School Library Journal

Gr 1 Up From the alarm clock ringing at 3:15 a.m. on launch day to getting used to gravity again after returning to Earth, Sally Ride takes readers on a trip in a space shuttle. This oversized book has plenty of clear, full-color photos that follow and supplement the text and bring to life the shuttle flight. Ride's zest for the adventure comes through clearly, making this a book that can be read aloud to young children, please an adult, or inspire anyone in between. This is much shorter and more accessible than previous accounts by astronauts, e.g., Gemini! (Macmillan, 1966; o.p.) by Virgil ``Gus'' Grissom or Flying to the Moon (Farrar, 1976) by Michael Collins. Just the right book to keep the dream alive while awaiting the next chance for a new American space adventure. Margaret L. Chatham, formerly at Smithtown Library, N.Y.

Book Details

Published
August 1, 1989
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
96
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780688091125

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