Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
Key Metrics
- Adam Higginbotham
- Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
- Hardcover
- 9781982176617
- 9 X 6 X 0.75 inches
- 1.06 pounds
- History > United States - 20th Century
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
On January 28, 1986, just seventy-three seconds into flight, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven people on board. Millions of Americans witnessed the tragic deaths of a crew including New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Like the assassination of JFK, the Challenger disaster is a defining moment in 20th century history--one that forever changed the way America thought of itself and its optimistic view of the future. Yet the full story of what happened, and why, has never been told. Until now.
Based on extensive archival research and meticulous, original reporting, Challenger: An American Tragedy follows a handful of central protagonists--including each of the seven members of the doomed crew--through the years leading up to the accident, a detailed account of the tragedy itself, and into the investigation that followed. It's a compelling tale of optimism and promise undermined by political cynicism and cost-cutting in the interests of burnishing national prestige; of hubris and heroism; and of an investigation driven by leakers and whistleblowers determined to bring the truth to light. Throughout, there are the ominous warning signs of a tragedy to come, recognized but then ignored, and later hidden from the public.
Higginbotham reveals the history of the shuttle program, the lives of men and women whose stories have been overshadowed by the disaster as well as the designers, engineers and test pilots who struggled against the odds to get the first shuttle into space. A masterful blend of riveting human drama and fascinating and absorbing science, Challenger brings to life a turning point in history--and the result is an even more complex and astonishing story than we remember.
Author Bio
Adam Higginbotham was born in England in 1968.
His narrative non-fiction and feature writing has appeared in magazines including The New Yorker, Wired, Smithsonian and The New York Times Magazine. Many of his stories have been optioned for development in film and TV.
His first book, Midnight In Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster, published in the United States by Simon & Schuster in 2019, is an international bestseller, and has been translated into 21 languages. It was named one of the New York Times’ Ten Best Books of the Year, won the 2020 William E. Colby Award for military and intelligence writing, and awarded the 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Non-fiction. He is currently at work on a new book, about the history of the space shuttle and the 1986 Challenger disaster.
The former US correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph Magazine and editor-in-chief of The Face, he lives with his family in New York City.
Source: adamhigginbotham.com
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