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Author
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Topic: Fallen Astronauts (Burgess, Doolan, Vis)
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MB
Member Posts: 155
From: Olmsted Falls, Ohio U.S.A.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 01-26-2013 04:20 PM
   
Colin, I really enjoyed this book and appreciate the time and effort that you put into it to tell each's astronaut's story. Thank you. I found it really interesting that Charlie Bassett grew up in Berea, Ohio which is the town adjacent to where I live. I had known that he was born in Dayton, Ohio but didn't realize that he spent much of his life in Berea! I would really be interested in the reissue of your book through the Nebraska Press with additional information about these astronauts. I was wondering if you have thought about including Joe Walker in the reissue of your book. He was awarded his astronaut's wings posthomously in 2005 and I have always been interested in his role in the space program. Joe was also started his career at the NASA Lewis (now Glenn) research center, and I'm sure the History office there would be happy to assist you in your research. Appreciate you considering this request and best wishes on the reissue of your terrific book! |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 01-26-2013 04:37 PM
Thank you for your kind words, MB. The Nebraska Press are still to make a decision about a reissue of Fallen Astronauts as part of the Outward Odyssey series, but I expect to hear a result in the next few days.Joe Walker's life, death and many contributions to the X-15 program will actually be fully covered in the forthcoming series book, "The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings into Space," which will be available around April/May this year. Michelle Evans has done a tremendous job with this book, and it is a wonderful, human story of that research program. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 02-26-2013 12:44 AM
Unfortunately the decision has come down from Nebraksa Press that as "Fallen Astronauts" has previously been released as a paperback they are not interested in producing a hardcover version in the Outward Odyssey series, even though it would have been greatly expanded from the original version, and they were the ones who floated the idea to me a few months back. I did argue that it was only released in very small numbers in hardcover (and without a dust jacket) but they decided that they would only be interested in producing a revised paperback in the series, which I could not agree to, as this would leave an unacceptable (to me) gap in the hardcover series. My stance has always been that it should be published in both hardcover and paperback and so, regretfully, there will be no revised and expanded version. |
johntosullivan
Member Posts: 162
From: Cork, Cork, Ireland
Registered: Oct 2005
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posted 02-26-2013 04:32 AM
That is a pity. |
bwhite1976
Member Posts: 281
From: Belleville, IL
Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 02-26-2013 09:15 AM
Fallen Astronauts is one of those books that I have read or thumbed through so many times that I have had to buy a second copy so I have a pristine mint copy in the bookshelf. A hardcover edition would be very welcome. Sorry to see it is not happening, at least not in the near future. An outstanding book. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 12-17-2013 04:56 PM
It's a rather exciting time for Kate Doolan and I as we work on the reissue of "Fallen Astronauts" for the University of Nebraska Press. This was the book that actually created interest at the Press for a series of books on the history of space exploration that eventually became Outward Odyssey, and we are delighted that this enlarged version will become a part of the series, albeit only as a paperback edition.Not only has it given us the chance to include material that came along subsequent to the release of the book in 2003, back to make some changes and correct a few niggling errors. But the greatest thing of all is that I am now back in touch with family members and others associated with these guys, and everyone is so keen to assist. Kate and I plan on expanding the book by around 100 pages and including a few more (and some different) photographs. We are not including any other astronaut stories - we are sticking with those who died before the moon landings - but we have been enjoying the new research and adding in new material. For instance, it was not known at the time of the original release of the book that Ed Givens was actually one of the 32 finalists for the Mercury Group 1 selection - and this was not even known by his three children at the time, who were quite astonished to learn this. Not sure when it will be released, but we are aiming to present the manuscript before the middle of next year, so probably a 2015 release. |
dom
Member Posts: 855
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 12-17-2013 05:22 PM
Colin, do you or Bert plan to revise the chapter on the cosmonauts who died too? Their stories have become much clearer in the last few years and it would be great to see the definitive details in this new edition of 'Fallen Astronauts'. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 12-17-2013 07:05 PM
Hi Dom, yes, the cosmonaut biographies have also undergone revision and updating. |
sfurtaw
Member Posts: 104
From: Saginaw, MI USA
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 12-17-2013 09:06 PM
Great news, Colin! I don't think I need to tell you how excited I am to hear this!
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nelyubov
Member Posts: 131
From: USA
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 12-18-2013 06:29 AM
Colin: Fantastic news. Looking forward to the revision and the Liberty 7 book. The original Fallen Astronauts was great, as is your latest on Freedom 7. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 07-29-2014 01:43 AM
Pleased to report that the revised, updated and expanded version of "Fallen Astronauts" is now ready in manuscript form and will be shipped off to the University of Nebraska Press this week. Although it will now become an Outward Odyssey series book, it will only (regretfully) be published in a paperback version. Still, it was good to include a lot of material that has come in subsequent to the first printing in 2003. |
sfurtaw
Member Posts: 104
From: Saginaw, MI USA
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 07-29-2014 03:37 PM
Great news, Colin! I thought about writing "you have no idea how much I am looking forward to this"... But then realized that you probably do have an idea.
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lspooz
Member Posts: 384
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Aug 2012
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posted 07-29-2014 04:51 PM
quote:
Originally posted by ColinBurgess:
...it will now become an Outward Odyssey series book, it will only (regretfully) be published in a paperback version.
Any chance of a 'library binding' version (like that of Pogue's How Do You Go to the Bathroom in Space?) yielding a near-hardcover book for a little durability? |
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
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posted 07-29-2014 04:52 PM
Colin, I thought you might get a kick out of this. It seems someone holds your book in very high esteem.I wonder if they would take off the $0.23. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 07-29-2014 05:24 PM
WOW!!! I have to say that if anyone buys it at that price I will fly over with Kate Doolan and Bert Vis and we will personally sign that rather special copy, as well as giving every cS member a free space trip with Virgin Galactic.Incidentally, the manuscript went to UNP this morning, so we're under way again. |
mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 07-29-2014 05:41 PM
The shipping fee of $3.99 was a deal breaker for me!  |
BA002
Member Posts: 175
From: Utrecht,NL
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 07-30-2014 03:45 PM
I suppose at that price a visit to the Apollo 15 statuette of the Fallen Astronaut is included! |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 05-21-2015 07:32 AM
I'm pleased to report that the editing process for the revised and enlarged "Fallen Astronauts" has just been completed, and the book now goes to the page proof stage. Once I have received and approved these and reported any last-minute changes then the book goes into production.It's a long process publishing through a university press (they are VERY meticulous), but I'm sure the end product will be an admirable addition to the Outward Odyssey series. The release is still a few months away, but I look forward to finally holding a copy in my hands. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 09-01-2015 06:30 PM
Today I received some good news from the University of Nebraska Press. The first is that the revised edition of "Fallen Astronauts" will be released on 1 May next year as part of the Outward Odyssey series. The second is that they have finally relented and decided to publish it in a hardcover version with dust jacket, rather than the softcover version originally planned. |
hinkler
Member Posts: 573
From: Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 09-02-2015 03:21 AM
Thanks for the information Colin. Look forward to buying a copy. |
dom
Member Posts: 855
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 09-02-2015 11:41 AM
Excellent news Colin, it deserves to be a hardback! |
johntosullivan
Member Posts: 162
From: Cork, Cork, Ireland
Registered: Oct 2005
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posted 09-07-2015 08:24 AM
Colin, hardback publication is great news. It will belong to the collection now, on the shelf. |
Larry McGlynn
Member Posts: 1255
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 09-07-2015 07:05 PM
Why do I have a hardcover edition of Fallen Astronauts from UNP dated 2003? |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 09-07-2015 10:35 PM
When the book was first published as a paperback in 2003, UNP produced 200 hardcover copies for libraries and other educational institutions, but without a dust jacket, which has always griped me. This time it is a revised and expanded hardcover (with dust jacket) and is now part of the Outward Odyssey series, whereas before it was a stand-alone publication. |
cspg
Member Posts: 6210
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted 11-19-2015 07:17 AM
Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon, Revised Edition
by Colin Burgess and Kate Doolan Near the end of the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott and fellow moonwalker James Irwin conducted a secret ceremony unsanctioned by NASA: they placed on the lunar soil a small tin figurine called "The Fallen Astronaut," along with a plaque bearing a list of names. By telling the stories of those sixteen astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the quest to reach the moon between 1962 and 1972, this book enriches the saga of humankind's greatest scientific undertaking, Project Apollo, and conveys the human cost of the space race.Many people are aware of the first manned Apollo mission, in which Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee lost their lives in a fire during a ground test, but few know of the other five fallen astronauts whose stories this book tells as well, including Ted Freeman and C.C. Williams, who died in the crashes of their T-38 jets; the "Gemini Twins," Charlie Bassett and Elliot See, killed when their jet slammed into the building where their Gemini capsule was undergoing final construction; and Ed Givens, whose fatal car crash has until now been obscured by rumors. Supported by extensive interviews and archival material, the extraordinary lives and accomplishments of these and other fallen astronauts — including eight Russian cosmonauts who lost their lives during training — unfold here in intimate and compelling detail. Their stories return us to a stirring time in the history of our nation and remind us of the cost of fulfilling our dreams. This revised edition includes expanded and revised biographies and additional photographs. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 12-13-2015 04:48 AM
Today I returned the page proofs of the revised and expanded edition of "Fallen Astronauts" to the University of Nebraska Press, together with a number of small changes to be made. Once these have been attended to, and the index compiled, the book will eventually go for printing and binding. And I will repeat that this new edition - now part of the Outward Odyssey series - is being printed in a hardcover edition with a dust jacket. I have seen the cover art and it is excellent.A very recent and very pleasant surprise is that last week I received a message from the creator of the Fallen Astronaut figurine, Paul von Hoeydonck, who let me know that he had read my book in its earlier edition and "liked it a lot." He is going to supply a back-cover comment for the revised edition. As you can imagine, this spontaneous message on his part means a lot to me, and adds even more to the overall theme of the book. |
lunarexplorer
Member Posts: 13
From: Albany Western Australia
Registered: Dec 2012
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posted 12-13-2015 07:10 AM
Just preordered my copy through University of Nebraska Press. I was very happy that I could apply a holiday code and save 30% which covered postage to Australia. I have not read the original and am looking forward to this one Collin. Congratulations on the support from Paul von Hoeydonck. That surely was the icing on the cake. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 01-26-2016 01:30 PM
All the editing and indexing work has been completed, my work is done, and the book will now go into production. I would imagine a release should happen in about six weeks or so. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 03-17-2016 04:30 PM
Today I learned that the newly-revised hardcover edition of "Fallen Astronauts" - now a member of the Outward Odyssey series - has just been released by the University of Nebraska Press. In fact I learned of this from a rather amazing source, when Paul Van Hoeydonck, who created the Fallen Astronaut statuette and wrote a back cover blurb for the book, let me know that he had just received his complimentary copy.Can't wait to see the new edition for myself. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 03-17-2016 10:31 PM
Just a happy postscript to my last message; my copies of "Fallen Astronauts" arrived in the post late today. It is a terrific looking book, and a great addition to the Outward Odyssey series. |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 04-06-2016 06:34 AM
Novaspace has confirmed that they will have a limited number of copies of the new release of "Fallen Astronauts" available at Spacefest VII in June. This may be the only signing I will be able to do of this book in the U.S. My co-author Kate Doolan is not in the best of health and will not be attending. |
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