Author(s): Martin Jenkins

Hardback Picture Books

A fascinating account of space exploration with lavish cross-section illustrations by Stephen Biesty, covering early astronomy, rockets, the Space Race and the future of space travel. The extraordinary story of space exploration, from Galileo's telescope to the launch of the International Space Station - and beyond! Martin Jenkins' accessible and wide-ranging narrative covers early astronomy, the history of flight, the Space Race, the day-to-day of astronauts in the International Space Station and the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and considers where future missions might take us. Stephen Biesty's magnificent cross-section illustrations lay bare the intricate workings of space probes and shuttles, the Mars Curiosity Rover, spacesuits and Soyuz rockets. Back matter includes a comprehensive timeline and glossary of terms. With hours' worth of detail to pore over, this is the perfect gift for all space enthusiasts, young or old.

Stephen Biesty is the maestro of blowing things up - expanding our view of them rather than destroying them of course. Famous for his "Incredible Cross-Sections” (books which had full page visuals of the minutiae of pirate ships and castles, often with a man on the toilet), the illustrations in this book are less detailed and more designed to complement the text.

This is great non-fiction - written for an age of 10+ in accessible language without condescending to the reader. It expects them to stretch themselves to discover really fascinating information about one of the most popular subjects we cover.

Much of the content deals with man's attempts to understand and conquer space, from early telescopes through to moon landings, space stations to the habitation of Mars in the future perhaps.

Fascinating family reading for intermediate age and up.
 
- John