The book describes what happened to the Apollo 13 mission, which was supposed to be the third manned lunar landing in 1970. Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise were on their way to the Moon, when there was an explosion in an oxygen tank – on April 13th. They had to abandon the Moon landing and focus on getting home, with the odds stacked against them.

Although the book was co-authored by Lovell, the perspective is third person. At first I thought that was strange, as there are chapters of his biography every so often, but then it made sense. A lot of the time we are following the various teams on the ground as they battled to solve problems and communicate to the crew. We also follow Marilyn, Jim’s wife, as she tries to reassure their children and fend off the media frenzy, while praying that he would come back. As a non-technical person, the book had too much detail for me and I think it could have been shorter, but for a science nerd I’m sure it would be perfect. I appreciate how it was carefully researched and structured. There is a good deal of background on previous missions and astronaut selection before we get to number 13. With a few diversions, the rest of the narrative, which is written in quite a journalistic style, follows the events closely. I liked the epilogue best, which manages to blend the investigation into what caused the explosion, with fast-forwarding to 1993 and Jim showing his space souvenirs to his grandchildren. At the end of the book, there is a timeline, list of Apollo missions, and dramatis personae. I think some images would have been a good addition, but I’m sure plenty can be found elsewhere.

Published by Hodder and Stoughton, 2015.

Related reviews: Space: The Human Story by Tim Peake, Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin, Look Up: Our Story with the Stars by Sarah Cruddas, The Moon by Oliver Morton, Challenger by Adam Higginbotham.

If you think the book sounds interesting but are not sure if it will be too much, I encourage you to read it.

Published by Canongate, 2026.

The writing style is entertaining and more informal than you might expect in a history of such a grand topic, although it is solemn when we get to the disasters. Something I don’t particularly remember reading about before is the development of food for astronauts. Humans not only need to eat, but they like to eat, so it’s a very worthy topic to dwell upon.

I’d recommend the book if you’re interested in the history of space exploration with a focus on the Americans vs the Russians. There isn’t a huge amount of technical detail either, so it’s very accessible. In fact, it’s less about the wonders of engineering, and more about the improvisations and cut corners! There is a nice selection of images too.

First published in 2023 by Penguin.

Related reviews: Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin, Look Up: Our Story with the Stars by Sarah Cruddas, The Moon by Oliver Morton, Challenger by Adam Higginbotham.

Joanne, researching his career and in consultation with her brother, puts together various events and circumstances which were previously mysterious or insignificant, and creates a portrait of a man whose ambition was greater than his abilities as a research scientist. At first, some aspects of her father were merely confusing, or seemed a little dodgy. As we go further into the memoir, the details become alarming and even nefarious. He left the family when the children were young, not long after his wife was struck down with a rare illness. The children never really connected the dots, but now they are adults, they are almost certain that what happened to their mother was not natural. Some of the content is speculative, such as Joanne’s theory on what he was working on for the government when they moved back to Britain, and what his involvement was in East Germany.

What I found very interesting about the memoir was the attitude of Joanne and her brother towards their father. He died nearly 40 years ago and they don’t seem to be holding on to feelings of anger, nor do they seem very surprised by any new facts that come to light. They are trying to process his motivations. Joanne fills in the gaps between chapters of research by imagining scenes in his life, referring to him as Michael. Once I had got used to this, I thought it was an effective way of connecting more with his character. The book doesn’t have all the answers, which is I suppose one reason why it’s presented as a memoir, rather than a biography. We are still missing some of the puzzle pieces. Several times, Joanne mentions a TV documentary on Primodos which featured her father, but it’s locked in a vault and is not allowed to be viewed, so we don’t know what he said in it.

A recommended read. Thank you to the publisher Ithaka Press for the review copy.

The majority of the book is about what led to the disaster, including the history of spaceflight, the design of the shuttle, the lives and careers of the key people, the culture of working at NASA, astronaut selection and political factors. The book demonstrates how it was not a question of if, but when, such a disaster would happen. The chapters devoted to what happened during the disaster are relatively few, because of course it happened so quickly, but the chapters afterward explore the effect on the astronauts’ families and on the nation, the investigation and recovery operations, and concludes that sadly some things did not change as a result, because of what happened later with the Columbia shuttle in 2003.

It’s very detailed and clearly well-researched, telling you everything you might want to know about the context of the disaster, as well as the human stories. In summary, an impressive, brilliantly-written book which pays tribute to the heroes who have lost their lives in humanity’s quest to know more about the universe.

Published by Penguin, 2024.

The title of the book is not named after the Manic Street Preachers song, but the song went around in my head. Other songs which circled my head included ‘It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by REM, ‘Apocalypse Please’ by Muse and ‘Two Minute Warning’ by Depeche Mode. One could make a whole playlist of songs. The author did reference some songs but the content was more about books and films. First, we learn about the apocalyptic beliefs held by many religions and how this influenced history. We then go into the main part of the book, rather excitingly described as ‘secular eschatology’. Each chapter is devoted to a way in which we believe, or have believed, that the world could end, including evidence from both fiction and non-fiction sources. I was familiar with some of the books referred to, such as The Last Man, The Time Machine (and other Wells works), The Day of the Triffids, I Am Legend and short stories by Arthur C Clarke and Ray Bradbury. Others I either hadn’t read or were a little obscure. Films included Deep Impact, Armageddon, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Melancholia. I would have liked the pop culture to be more prominent, as I felt that sometimes the philosophy and science were heavy going, particularly the section about nuclear war.

In summary, if you’re in the mood for eschatology and you like science fiction, give this book a read.

Published by Michael O’Mara Books, 2013.

The book examines what music actually is, how we perceive and process it, how artificial sounds are created, the history of electronic instruments, mathematics of scales and the very current topic of music created by AI. I picked up some very interesting facts and some concepts which made me think.

There were some elements of the book that I wasn’t too keen on. Several mentions of Kanye West (I’m in favour of separating art from the artist, but still, I wonder how wise it is to include him considering what he has been in the news for lately). Frequent references to Wikipedia and YouTube videos, which I feel could quickly become obsolete because of how the content of these platforms is subject to changes or deletion. Explanations of how to use various synthesiser apps, which again has the same problem of potential obsolescence; moreover, this wasn’t interesting to read and took up space in what is quite a short volume.

In summary, I’m probably not the target audience for this book, but if you have a scientific brain and time to spare for experimenting with apps, give it a read.

Thank you to the publisher Icon Books for the advance copy via NetGalley. The book will be published on 16th May.

Generally this was a fascinating read, history interwoven with a bit of science and personal reflection. I didn’t understand the explanations about how the various components of watches work as I don’t have the right kind of brain for that. Chapters which really caught my imagination included one about the use of radium for glowing dials and about the watch commissioned for Marie Antoinette. The book is very detailed and meticulously researched. I would recommend if you’re interested in both history and craft.

Thank you to the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for the advance copy via NetGalley. The book is available to purchase now.

The book examines lots of bizarre beliefs, which were (or are) often held by otherwise respectable and credible people. Note that this book is not really about conspiracy theories, it’s more about pseudo-scientific beliefs. The author celebrates this oddness and insists we each have a bit of that, even the most rational of us. He’s writing from the perspective of a sceptic who is nonetheless fascinated by it all and that some things remain unexplained. It’s also quite funny at times and an easy read. The chapters have irresistible titles such as: ‘The Exorcism of Ringo Starr’, ‘Should Office Plants be Investigating Murder Cases?’, ‘Are We Only Here Because of an Alien Picnic Gone Wrong?’, ‘Are Authors Stealing their Ideas from the Future?’ and, er, ‘Where Have All the Pubic Lice Gone?’ I can’t decide which chapter was the most bizarre. Possibly ‘Will We Ever Speak Dolphinese?’ which manages to be frightening, unsavoury and hilarious all at once.

A recommended read!

Published in 2022.