Astro Turf

The Private Life of Rocket Science

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Aeronautics & Astronautics, Reference & Language, Transportation, Aviation, Science
Cover of the book Astro Turf by M. G. Lord, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: M. G. Lord ISBN: 9780802719379
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: May 26, 2009
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA Language: English
Author: M. G. Lord
ISBN: 9780802719379
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: May 26, 2009
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA
Language: English

A daughter's journey to rediscover her father and understand the culture of space engineers

During the late 1960s, while M. G. Lord was becoming a teenager in Southern California and her mother was dying of cancer, Lord's father-an archetypal, remote, rocket engineer- disappeared into his work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, building the space probes of the Mariner Mars 69 mission. Thirty years later, Lord found herself reporting on the JPL, triggering childhood memories and a desire to revisit her past as a way of understanding the ethos of rocket science. Astro Turf is the brilliant result of her journey of discovery.

Remembering her pain at her father's absence, yet intrigued by what he did, Lord captures him on the page as she recalls her own youthful, eccentric fascination with science and space exploration. Into her family's saga she weaves the story of the legendary JPL- examining the complexities of its cultural history, from its start in 1936 to the triumphant Mars landings in 2004. She illuminates its founder, Frank Malina, whose brilliance in rocketry was shadowed by a flirtation with communism, driving him from the country even as we welcomed Wernher von Braun and his Nazi colleagues. Lord's own love of science fiction becomes a lens through which she views a profound cultural shift in the male-dominated world of space. And in pursuing the cause of her father's absence she stumbles on a hidden guilt, understanding "the anguish his proud silence caused both him and me, and how rooted that silence was in the culture of engineering."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A daughter's journey to rediscover her father and understand the culture of space engineers

During the late 1960s, while M. G. Lord was becoming a teenager in Southern California and her mother was dying of cancer, Lord's father-an archetypal, remote, rocket engineer- disappeared into his work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, building the space probes of the Mariner Mars 69 mission. Thirty years later, Lord found herself reporting on the JPL, triggering childhood memories and a desire to revisit her past as a way of understanding the ethos of rocket science. Astro Turf is the brilliant result of her journey of discovery.

Remembering her pain at her father's absence, yet intrigued by what he did, Lord captures him on the page as she recalls her own youthful, eccentric fascination with science and space exploration. Into her family's saga she weaves the story of the legendary JPL- examining the complexities of its cultural history, from its start in 1936 to the triumphant Mars landings in 2004. She illuminates its founder, Frank Malina, whose brilliance in rocketry was shadowed by a flirtation with communism, driving him from the country even as we welcomed Wernher von Braun and his Nazi colleagues. Lord's own love of science fiction becomes a lens through which she views a profound cultural shift in the male-dominated world of space. And in pursuing the cause of her father's absence she stumbles on a hidden guilt, understanding "the anguish his proud silence caused both him and me, and how rooted that silence was in the culture of engineering."

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Staging Beckett in Great Britain by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book The Cat's Paw by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Yoga, Meditation, and Mysticism by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book The Cultural Revolution of the Nineteenth Century by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Pictish Warrior AD 297-841 by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book The Law Emprynted and Englysshed by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Sculptural Photographs by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Gao Xingjian’s Post-Exile Plays by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book The Discourse of Online Consumer Reviews by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Shakespeare Inside by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Unreasoned Verdict by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Java Sea 1942 by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Union Infantryman 1861–65 by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book McDonagh Plays: 1 by M. G. Lord
Cover of the book Mission Alert: Island X by M. G. Lord
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy