T-Minus

I've just finished reading a marvelous graphic novel called T-Minus: The Race to the Moon. It's a wonderful piece of work focusing on the US/USSR space race, primarily focusing on the engineering and the public relations that spurred the competitiveness. The implication isn't really here in the book, but I've always sort of felt that the competitive edge, the need to do something first, is what's lacking from space exploration now. Now, space exploration isn't a big deal to the government. The initiative isn't there. T-Minus looks back at a time when a nation's pride was on the line, and tomorrow needed to be captured before anyone else could get it. A time of growth, not of stagnation.

It's a fantastic read; anything not clear enough is explained in a brief editorial note (usually acronyms and engineering terms, but also nice bits of historical back story, such as the surprising fact that hardly anyone in the USSR knew the name of their own space program's visionary Chief Designer until after he died). It's not too long, but it's very involving nonetheless, beginning with the launch of Sputnik I and going all the way up to the landing of Apollo 11. And even though the focus is on engineering and less on dramatic character moments, the characters are very realistic and the drama is the drama of real life: the drama of daring to accomplish.

For anyone interested in America's space program--and I'm thinking specifically of curious children--this is a great entry point to that part of our history. It's a staging ground for a larger interest in the entire picture, and if you do have a child around 10 or so years old who's interested in science, I really recommend this book. And even if you don't, and you're just looking for something to read, this is so thoroughly engrossing that you could do a lot worse.

The creative team behind this book, by the way, are the same team behind another of my favorite graphic novels from the past 10 years: Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Paleontology. You can tell what it's about from that cumbersome title--and bonus: Charles R. Knight is a character in this true story.

If you can find both books, don't hesitate.