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Author
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Topic: Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
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cspg Member Posts: 1456 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
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posted September 25, 2008 11:57 PM
Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster by Allan J McDonald and James R. Hansen - Hardcover: 576 pages
- Publisher: University Press of Florida (May 13, 2009)
- ISBN-10: 0813033268
- ISBN-13: 978-0813033266
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Jay Chladek Member Posts: 588 From: Bellevue, NE, USA Registered: Aug 2007
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posted September 27, 2008 10:52 PM
The title is a bit hookish, but if Hansen is involved, hopefully it will be a good one since he was a NASA historian and also wrote First Man. There are so many IMHO crappy Challenger books out there these days as most of the authors are trying to spin it for their own selfish reasons (which is to sell books).I have to wonder if Neil might help with some of the research since he was on the Rodgers Commission to investigate the cause of Challenger. IP: Logged |
Richard Easton Member Posts: 29 From: Winnetka, IL USA Registered: Jun 2006
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posted September 28, 2008 04:39 AM
There was an excerpt from this book in Vol 14 #3 of Quest.It looked interesting though I'm not an expert on the Challenger disaster. IP: Logged |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 13392 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted September 29, 2008 01:59 PM
Unique aspects of Truth, Lies and O-Rings: - First book written on the Challenger accident by someone who was actually involved in the decision to launch and the aftermath;
- First book to address all of the factors that led to the accident, some of which were never addressed in NASA's Failure Team report submitted to the Presidential Commission;
- First book that contains anyone's personal experiences as a "whistleblower," retribution against that individual by his company, and his reinstatement to lead the redesign as a result of pressure from the Presidential Commission and the U.S. Congress;
- First book to critically evaluate all testimony given to the Presidential Commission and the U.S. Congress and to point out conflicts and evidence of a cover-up by NASA concerning the launch decision;
- First book to address the controversy, conflicts, and difficulties encountered in the redesign program to restore the Shuttle to safe flight ASAP.
- First book to address early warnings of very severe debris issues from the first two flights after Challenger in 1988 that later resulted in the loss of Columbia some 15 years later.
- First book to address what happened to all of the people at NASA and Morton Thiokol that were involved in that ill-fated decision to launch the Challenger on that cold chilly morning of January 28, 1986.
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 13392 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted September 29, 2008 02:24 PM
Here is Truth, Lies, and O-Rings Table of Contents: Foreword Prologue: Cold, Hard Facts Part One: Red Flags Chapter 1 - When It Rains It Pours Chapter 2 - Tests and 'No-Tests' Chapter 3 - Dire Warning Chapter 4 - A Total O-Ring Failure Chapter 5 - An Impotent Task Force Chapter 6 - 'In the Interest of Avoiding Pain' Part Two: Misdiagnosis Chapter 7 - The Teleconference Chapter 8 - The Caucus Chapter 9 - 'Obviously, A Major Malfunction' Chapter 10 - 'Don't Blame Yourself' Chapter 11 - 'When is the Space Shuttle Going Up, Daddy?' Part Three: Search For The Truth Chapter 12 - Shocking the Presidential Commission Chapter 13 - Cover-Up Chapter 14 - 'God, That Took a Lot of Guts' Chapter 15 - A Leper in the Limelight Chapter 16 - Walking Out Chapter 17 - 'The Extremes of Allowable Engineering' Chapter 18 - Changing Hats and Minds Part Four: Obfuscation Chapter 19 - Rationalization and Innuendo Chapter 20 - 31 Degrees? Chapter 21 - We Have a Problem with Houston Chapter 22 - Finger Pointing Chapter 23 - The Apocalypse Letter Chapter 24 - 'Trouble with Your Logic' Chapter 25 - The Monkey Changes Backs Part Five: Commissioners And Congressmen Chapter 26 - The Green Ball Theory Chapter 27 - Commencement Chapter 28 - Commodore Locke Assailed in Washington Chapter 29 - The Bucks Stops Here? Part Six: No Consensus Chapter 30 - The Bell Tolls for Thee Chapter 31 - Redesign and Resurrection Chapter 32 - Boisjoly's $2 Billion Lawsuit Chapter 33 - No Mountain Too High Chapter 34 - The Peacekeeper Explosion Chapter 35 - Witness for the Defense...and Prosecution Chapter 36 - Confirming the Silver Bullet Part Seven: Return-To-Flight Chapter 37 - Flight of the Phoenix Chapter 38 - Premonitions Chapter 39 - Dissolution Chapter 40 - Requiem Mcdonald Biography: Big Sky Values Bibliographical Essay References Glossary Acknowledgments Index IP: Logged |
kr4mula Member Posts: 202 From: Cinci, OH Registered: Mar 2006
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posted September 30, 2008 10:47 AM
Wow, reading the bullet points and table of contents, it sure doesn't seem like the authors are making much of an effort to be dispassionate in their history, right or wrong. I can understand McDonald doing that, especially since he feels slighted and probably wants to sell a lot of books, but you'd think Hansen would try to level things out a bit. But perhaps that's just marketing and an actual read will demonstrate otherwise.Cheers, Kevin IP: Logged |
Mr Meek Member Posts: 180 From: Chattanooga, TN Registered: Dec 2007
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posted September 30, 2008 11:21 AM
Well, even in First Man, Hansen didn't shy away from strong or dramatic language (see: the title and its usage throughout the book as a proper noun) for effect. That book has a good balance of drama when appropriate, without being sensational.And, let's face it, you cannot divorce the academic and the dramatic when it comes to something like the Challenger disaster. The magnitude of the failure of management, technology, and good sense cannot be fully expressed without accounting for both the human and organizational costs. IP: Logged |
Jay Chladek Member Posts: 588 From: Bellevue, NE, USA Registered: Aug 2007
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posted September 30, 2008 03:07 PM
Good points there Meek. I will say it makes me want to read it right now. But looks like I have to wait a bit like everyone else.I would say the only to date "good" book I've read about Challenger was Randy Avera's "The Truth About Challenger" as it covers things from the side of engineers at KSC during the prep, launch and reconstruction of the evidence. No real shocking revelations were made there, but it was an eye opener to me about how KSC dealt with the situation. IP: Logged | |
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