{"product_id":"sky-walking-isbn-9781588344045","title":"Sky Walking","description":"A gripping first-hand account of life in space and the making of an   astronaut.  What is it like to fly the space shuttle and work on and in   the International Space Station? Veteran NASA astronaut Tom Jones is   uniquely qualified to give the details: he flew four shuttle missions   and led three space walks to deliver the US Lab to the Station. . From   B-52 pilot during the Cold War, to a PhD in planetary science, to the   unbelievable rigors of astronaut training, his career inevitably pointed   him toward the space shuttle. Until the Challenger exploded.  Jones's   story is the first to candidly explain the professional and personal   hardships faced by the astronauts in the aftermath of that 1986 tragedy.   He certainly has 'The Right Stuff' but also found himself wondering if   the risks he undertook were worth the toll on  his family. Liftoffs  were  especially nerve-wracking (his mother, who refuses to even get on a   plane, cannot watch) but his 53 days in space were unforgettable   adventures.  Jones uses his background as a scientist to explain the   practical applications of many of the shuttle's scientific missions, and   describes what it's like to work with the international crews building   and living aboard the space station. Tom Jones returned from his space   station voyage to assess the impact of the 2003 Columbia tragedy, and   prescribes a successful course for the U.S. in space. Stunning   photographs, many taken in space, illustrate his amazing journey.\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith humanity and passion (and less swagger than Mike  Mullane), Jones powerfully brings to life the world of the modern NASA  astronaut. Confined to low Earth orbit, no longer tasked with  high-profile trips to the Moon, a small corps of dedicated professional  space travelers work on serious science and dream of the day they will  fly into space. Countless on-the-ground training hours prepare the  astronauts for the rigors of space travel—practicing an extravehicular  space walk in a 10-million-gallon tank or being flung around in a  100,000-horsepower centrifuge to acclimate to the eight g's of force  experienced on lift-off. A tested B-52 bomber pilot and planetary  scientist, Jones still feels and expresses wonder at space flight: \"I  was thirty-nine when I stepped out on the pad [in 1994] with the rest of  the crew, but I gazed up at \u003ci\u003eEndeavor \u003c\/i\u003ewith a child's amazement.... I shivered with excitement at the sight of my now-ready spaceship.\" While the twin tragedies of \u003ci\u003eChallenger \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eColumbia \u003c\/i\u003ehang  over the story like a pall, Jones still manages to fire the spirit and  invite the reader to imagine a place for humankind beyond planet Earth. \u003ci\u003e(Feb.)\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBooklist \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJones' memoir of his work as an astronaut in the 1990s  is an unusually expressive contribution to the spaceflight genre. His  descriptions of launches and landings--Jones made four of each in the  space shuttle--are as engrossing as any in the literature, as is his  appreciation for the extreme peril facing those who volunteer to ride a  rocket into space. So why do they? Jones' personal explanations are  probably typical: NASA's 1960s missions excited and intrigued him, and  he ascended the aerospace technology career ladder by flying B-52s,  earning a doctorate, doing engineering for the CIA, and joining NASA.  Clearly professional advancement is one motivation, but the exhilaration  of being in space, and the spectacular extraterrestrial vistas it  affords, remains an inspiration self-evident in Jones' account. Still,  being a meticulous technologist is the sine qua non of the astronaut,  and lies behind the author's recurring comment that his greatest anxiety  was not the prospect of death but making a mistake in his tasks. Jones  will claim space buffs with his frankness and jargon--free fluency. \u003ci\u003eGilbert Taylor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A‘tell it like it is’ flight crew report of living and working in space . . . An inside story—well told!” \u003cb\u003eNeil Armstrong\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It’s  a story filled with excitement, disappointment, frustration, danger,  triumph, and tragedy… It’s a thrilling ride.” \u003cb\u003eDale Brown\u003c\/b\u003e, New York  Times bestselling author of Act of War\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“…Tom Jones got to live  the dream. Here is his extraordinary story, told with vivid clarity,  candor, and style.” \u003cb\u003eAndrew Chaikin\u003c\/b\u003e, author of A Man on the Moon\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I can recommend no better read for the armchair astronaut than Sky Walking!” \u003cb\u003eHomer Hickam\u003c\/b\u003e, author of Rocket Boys\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“What it’s like to be ‘in-the-program.’ ...an excellent account.” \u003cb\u003eJohn H. Glenn\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Tom Jones has set the benchmark for [describing life as] an astronaut in the shuttle era.” \u003cb\u003eBruce Betts\u003c\/b\u003e, Planetary Report\u003c\/i\u003eBorn and raised in Maryland, Tom Jones is a Distinguished Graduate\u003cbr\u003eof the United States Air Force Academy. During his career, he has piloted B-52s,\u003cbr\u003eearned a doctorate in planetary science, and worked for the CIA. He entered the\u003cbr\u003eNASA astronaut program in 1990, flew four missions on the space shuttle, and\u003cbr\u003ehelped build the International Space Station. He is a space consultant, author,\u003cbr\u003epublic speaker, and a senior research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human\u003cbr\u003eand Machine Cognition.Astronaut Tom Jones brings the excitement and stresses of space flight to life in this well-told inside story","brand":"Smithsonian Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302102946021,"sku":"NP9781588344045","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781588344045.jpg?v=1767736737","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/sky-walking-isbn-9781588344045","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}