From: Bruce Dunn <bruce_dunn@mindlink.bc.ca>
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: "Space Shuttle" by D. Jenkins; new edition
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 18:03:17 -0700

Dennis R. Jenkins has now produced a second edition of his excellent 
book "Space Shuttle - The History of Developing the National Space 
Transportation System".  It can be distinguished from the first edition 
(published in 1992) by its cover designation of "The Beginning through 
STS-75" (the first edition covered only up to STS-50).

This book is a fundamental reference for anyone interested in any one of 
several areas:

- technical approaches to building a reusable or semi-reusable launch 
vehicle 
- the history of the Space Shuttle, including its funding, construction 
and flights
- the technology of the Space Shuttle, as it was original built and as 
it has been modified through the years

The second edition corrects some mistakes that inevitably had crept into 
the first edition, covers 25 more Shuttle flights than the original, and 
adds extensive technical information such as a list of SSME serial 
numbers and engine flights, and data for each flight such as GLOW, 
payload weight, touchdown velocity etc.  New information is scattered 
throughout the book, including more information on Buran and a section 
on space station re-supply vehicles from the 1960s (including the 
whimsical inclusion of a beautifully executed line drawing of the Pan 
American Passenger Shuttle from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey).  
Finally, there is a complete breakdown of shuttle related budget items 
for a single year, for those who care to try their own hand at 
estimating the effective cost of a single Shuttle flight.

The book is hardcover, large format (8 ½ x 11 inches) and approximately 
350 pages.  Mr. Jenkins is committed to keeping the book up to date - 
the current edition, published in mid 1996, contains information on 
events happening up to the first couple of months of the year.  People 
who spot errors or problems in the current printing should contact Mr. 
Jenkins as described below, so that these problems can be corrected in 
the next printing, expected in early 1997.

Official distribution of the book is by Motorbooks International and 
their subsidiary Zenith Aviation Books, P.O. Box 1, Osceloa WI 54020.  
(phone 800-826-6600 or 715-294-4448).  Price is $29.95, and credit cards 
are accepted.

Alternately, Dennis is selling the book directly for $20 plus $5 
shipping in the US, or plus actual shipping costs for foreign orders 
(payment in US currency only).   Dennis R. Jenkins, 192 Martesia Way, 
Indian Harbour Beach, Florida 92937-3573, (404)-773-9849, 
djenkins@iu.net

From: Bruce Dunn <bruce_dunn@mindlink.bc.ca>
Newsgroups: sci.space.tech
Subject: Corrections to review of "Space Shuttle"
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 20:17:02 -0700

A correction and a couple of clarification on my review of the new 
edition of "Space Shuttle" by Dennis R. Jenkins

As Mary-Frances Jagod has pointed out, I had mistyped the ZIP code for 
mail contact for Mr. Jenkins.  The correct information is as follows:

Dennis R. Jenkins, 192 Martesia Way,
Indian Harbour Beach, Florida 32937-3573,
(404)-773-9849,
djenkins@iu.net               
                      
To aid in ordering, the book is ISBN 0-9633974-4-3.

The current edition may be identified from earlier editions by its 
printing information inside, which indicates: Second Edition, First 
Printing, June 1996.  The current edition may also be identified by a 
single full size image of a Shuttle launch, with a dark shuttle and ET 
highlighted against a brighter sky.  The overall color scheme of the 
cover of the new edition is brown or tan, while the previous edition was 
blue. 

There is a little confusion about the title of the book.  There are 
actually two titles and a subtitle which appear on the volume:

Title 1: Space Shuttle

Title 2: The History of Developing the National Space Transportation
System

Subtitle:  The Beginning through STS-75

Title 1 (in large letters) and title 2 (in smaller letters) along with 
the subtitle appear on the cover of the book.

Only Titles 1 and 2 appear on the spine.

The cover page omits Title 1, and only has Title 2 and the subtitle.

For short, I will continue calling the book "Space Shuttle"

From: Bruce Dunn <bruce_dunn@mindlink.bc.ca>
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: D. Jenkins, corrected corrected contact information
Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996 18:15:31 -0700

Dennis Jenkins has a new edition of his book "Space Shuttle".  After 
posting contact information for him, it was pointed out that I had given 
an incorrect ZIP code for him.  After I posted a correction, it was 
further pointed out that I had given a wrong telephone number for him.  
OUCH!  MY APOLOGIES!

The real data, double and triple checked, is:


Dennis R. Jenkins
192 Martesia Way
Indian Harbour Beach
Florida 32937-3573

(407)-773-9849

djenkins@iu.net

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: Henry Spencer <henry@zoo.toronto.edu>
Subject: Re: "Space Shuttle" by D. Jenkins; new edition
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 19:12:55 GMT

In article <31E5A455.2D0F@mindlink.bc.ca> Bruce Dunn <bruce_dunn@mindlink.bc.ca> writes:
>Dennis R. Jenkins has now produced a second edition of his excellent 
>book "Space Shuttle - The History of Developing the National Space 
>Transportation System"...
>This book is a fundamental reference for anyone interested in any one of 
>several areas...

I'll add my recommendation to Bruce's.  This book is *the* reference on
the history of the shuttle, including considerable insight on just why it
ended up the way it did.  It also collects a lot of useful information
that is otherwise hard to find, like a good technical overview of the
hardware and historical summaries of the flights.

I read the first edition with considerable interest, finding a lot of
things that I'd never seen mentioned anywhere else, and I use it as a
reference with some frequency.  I haven't yet had a chance to really go
through the second edition, looking for the new material, but I plan to
find the time soon.

I still have a minor complaint or two.  In particular, I still find it
annoying that the decision on what to include in the background-history
chapters seems to be based on presence or absence of wings (or their
equivalent in lifting bodies) rather than on historical relevance -- both
the manned capsules (some of which were reusable and had substantial
amounts of aerodynamic lift) and the early work on non-lifting and
low-lift RLVs (such as Phil Bono's long struggle to get NASA to take VTVL
SSTO seriously) are slighted.  However, this odd limitation of scope
doesn't really detract from the book's value, and there's no denying that
it obviously took serious historical digging just to get this far.

Highly recommended.
-- 
...the truly fundamental discoveries seldom        |       Henry Spencer
occur where we have decided to look.  --B. Forman  |   henry@zoo.toronto.edu