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maxfieldw's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
jclin's review against another edition
4.0
Guthrie provides interesting insight into the incipient commercial spaceflight industry, and captures the grit and genius of Peter Diamandis and his team. Guthrie's book is packed full of content and details. However, I did not appreciate the way the book was written -- Diamandis's quest is described in the fashion of a novel, which detracted from the historical and real aspect of the book. The book also contains some unnecessary details. All in all, a worthy read.
lischa3000's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting book about wonderfully inspirational people. Could have been shorter though.
sidetracked's review against another edition
4.0
Julian Guthrie has put together the story of the Ansari XPrize based on the host of interviews he had with the people involved in it, either as organizers or as competitors. The story is well told and well paced. I did not find it dull at any moment in time. It even managed to convey emotions well, for example when describing the scenes when the pilots would say their goodbyes to the loved ones before a test flight.
It was also interesting to briefly see what other competitors were doing in other corners of the world. The part of the book dedicated to the other teams is adequate but it does not really make you feel that there was any competition. As one of the people involved in the project said, only 1 team seemed to be adequately funded -
Good read, definitely recommended to fans of space exploration and its brief history.
It was also interesting to briefly see what other competitors were doing in other corners of the world. The part of the book dedicated to the other teams is adequate but it does not really make you feel that there was any competition. As one of the people involved in the project said, only 1 team seemed to be adequately funded -
Spoiler
Scaled Composites which is also the only one that managed to fly a manned mission and in the end win the prize.Good read, definitely recommended to fans of space exploration and its brief history.
bumblebean's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely amazing. Full of details of triumph, failure, success, and disappointment, this book helped remind me why I’m going to school and studying what I am: to further man’s reach into the unknown.
drager's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.5
chrisvaughn's review against another edition
4.0
I give this book 4 stars because the story of the X Prize and SpaceShipOne was fascinating and important. I wasn’t really paying attention when this happened in the early 2000s. I didn’t realize how important SpaceshipOne was and how many firsts it achieved. I really enjoyed this book for the education it brought to the topic.
The only negative for me was there was a lot of character biography about a lot of people related to the story that just didn’t add to the goal of the book. I listened to it as an audio book and I think this could have been a 10 hour book instead of a 16 hour book.
The only negative for me was there was a lot of character biography about a lot of people related to the story that just didn’t add to the goal of the book. I listened to it as an audio book and I think this could have been a 10 hour book instead of a 16 hour book.
lizinthelibrary's review against another edition
Somehow couldn't manage to get through this one.
midwinter's review against another edition
4.0
Julian Guthrie has put together the story of the Ansari XPrize based on the host of interviews he had with the people involved in it, either as organizers or as competitors. The story is well told and well paced. I did not find it dull at any moment in time. It even managed to convey emotions well, for example when describing the scenes when the pilots would say their goodbyes to the loved ones before a test flight.
It was also interesting to briefly see what other competitors were doing in other corners of the world. The part of the book dedicated to the other teams is adequate but it does not really make you feel that there was any competition. As one of the people involved in the project said, only 1 team seemed to be adequately funded -Scaled Composites which is also the only one that managed to fly a manned mission and in the end win the prize.
Good read, definitely recommended to fans of space exploration and its brief history.
It was also interesting to briefly see what other competitors were doing in other corners of the world. The part of the book dedicated to the other teams is adequate but it does not really make you feel that there was any competition. As one of the people involved in the project said, only 1 team seemed to be adequately funded -
Good read, definitely recommended to fans of space exploration and its brief history.
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