Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
by Adam Higginbotham
Challenger by Adam Higginbotham tells the story of the 1986 Space Shuttle disaster in a ‘nonfiction thriller’ style (Higginbotham also wrote a pacy book about the 1986 Chernobyl disaster). This is a great way to get an understanding of what happened, given the technical engineering details of creating a reusable, plane-like spacecraft, and the complicated decision-making process at NASA. There had been many warnings about the rubber O-rings (the direct cause of the accident) but they were not heeded.
Recommendations from our site
“Adam Higginbotham’s Challenger is about the 1986 space shuttle disaster. Space exploration is a topic I got into at the time of the 50th anniversary of the moon landings: the combination of what human beings are able to figure out, and then willing to risk trying out, is just something I find compelling. That space travel is not something I would do for love or money seems to add, rather than detract, from my interest in reading about people who do.” Read more...
Notable Nonfiction Books of Mid-2024
Sophie Roell, Journalist
