Friends, friends, friends.
Welcome back to Teatime Reading where there are books in progress.
Space exploration has recently gone from a public investment to a private money-making/ego-stroking competition.
Between SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, it’s felt like a measuring contest for billionaires, and I’ve never quite known how feel about that level of hubris. In his new book titled Test Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of a Modern Astronaut, author Nicholas Schmidle went behind the scenes with Virgin Galactic and the long road of a test pilot.
I’ll be honest, this book felt like a bit of a slog. Timelines were confusing and the characters never grabbed my attention all that well. What did happen was a deep look into the inner workings of a complicated and reckless company with a less than serious attitude towards safety.
To be fair, I did like the focus that the author put on pilot and protagonist Mark Stucky but it still couldn’t overcome the overwhelming lack of focus for this book. Additionally, even though the author’s history as the son of a pilot made his connection with the subject matter more interesting, it just wasn’t enough.
From setback to triumph to setback to safety issue, Test Gods was a difficult book to finish and it felt way longer than its 250-ish pages.
For that reason, I find it very difficult to recommend it.
Maybe I’m wrong, though.
That’s all for today readers. Until next time, keep your bookmarks close.
Peace, Love, Pages.
Note: As Always, Affiliate Links are here for your convenience at no cost to you. All reading was at my own expense.