5 ms·

It seems this book is best if you read some small excerpts. I tried to read the whole book but I found the author to be a little too full of himself to make the

It seems this book is best if you read some small excerpts. I tried to read the whole book but I found the author to be a little too full of himself to make the book enjoyable.

masklinn 6y ago
I guess that's an YMMV thing, I had no issue reading Ignition! and very much enjoyed the trip.
- Ididntdothis 6y ago
  Very true. Sometimes I hate a book but when I read it again later It’s suddenly enjoyable. Maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read Ignition.
- FlyMoreRockets 6y ago
  Same here. The day I discovered it in the engineering library, I sat down in the stack and read it cover to cover. Very difficult to put down.
gww 6y ago
I really struggled with this book too. I am fascinated by the research behind space travel but I find some of the books really hard to enjoy. Another one I have struggled with is Sunburst and Luminary, I may not have the technical background to appreciate it.
- Karunamon 6y ago
  Both of you may wish to give the audiobook a try. I had the same problem with the font being nigh-unreadble. I found the narration in the audio version to be very nice.
  - gww 6y ago
    That's a great idea thanks. I am spending so much time in the car right now because of COVID and I have run out of podcasts.
btilly 6y ago
I had the opposite experience. But it helps that I've personally known very smart people with that same dry style of humor. Whose self-assurance was completely justified. I therefore read it as not pretentious, but as understated. It helps that the actual content could only have been written by someone who genuinely was extremely smart.
mcguire 6y ago
I know what you mean, although I enjoyed the book very much. The stories about Clark hearing that <scientist X> was working on <project Y> openly when they had already worked on classified <project Y>, so they had to get Y declassified quickly so they could scoop X were particularly unappealing.

It seems this book is best if you read some small excerpts. I tried to read the whole book but I found the author to be a little too full of himself to make the book enjoyable.

masklinn 6y ago

I guess that's an YMMV thing, I had no issue reading Ignition! and very much enjoyed the trip.

Ididntdothis 6y ago
Very true. Sometimes I hate a book but when I read it again later It’s suddenly enjoyable. Maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read Ignition.
FlyMoreRockets 6y ago
Same here. The day I discovered it in the engineering library, I sat down in the stack and read it cover to cover. Very difficult to put down.

gww 6y ago

I really struggled with this book too. I am fascinated by the research behind space travel but I find some of the books really hard to enjoy. Another one I have struggled with is Sunburst and Luminary, I may not have the technical background to appreciate it.

Karunamon 6y ago
Both of you may wish to give the audiobook a try. I had the same problem with the font being nigh-unreadble. I found the narration in the audio version to be very nice.
- gww 6y ago
  That's a great idea thanks. I am spending so much time in the car right now because of COVID and I have run out of podcasts.

btilly 6y ago

I had the opposite experience. But it helps that I've personally known very smart people with that same dry style of humor. Whose self-assurance was completely justified. I therefore read it as not pretentious, but as understated. It helps that the actual content could only have been written by someone who genuinely was extremely smart.

mcguire 6y ago

I know what you mean, although I enjoyed the book very much. The stories about Clark hearing that <scientist X> was working on <project Y> openly when they had already worked on classified <project Y>, so they had to get Y declassified quickly so they could scoop X were particularly unappealing.