Customer Reviews:
A Book to Savor and Thoughtfully Consider.......2007-09-07
I bought this book soon after the original television program was first broadcast and it's one I re-read often -- it remains one of my favorites. Although it is a very faithful (almost word-for-word and image-for-image) presentation of the material in the series, to have the information in a book to read at one's own pace (instead of being forced to absorb information at the pace of the television production), to carefully consider what Dr. Bronowski says, and to see what (if anything) it means to the reader makes the book an almost indispensable companion to the series.
As has been pointed out in earlier reviews, the high impact of this book (and of the television series) is the passion Dr. Bronowski brings to the material, how it's clear he truly believed that it is necessary for everyone to understand how the development of society is the product of generations of people pursuing knowledge ("science"), and that this understanding is critical to the future of civilization...the scientific imagination, standing always at the edge of the unknown and unsure, versus absolutism and dogma.
Now that the television series has been attractively remastered and is now available to the general public, the book has an even greater utility. The captions on the DVDs are very poorly done, to the extent that some of the errors make significant changes in Dr. Bronowski's statements and points. It's clear that whoever prepared the captions did not refer to the shooting script OR TO THIS BOOK! In other words, the book is important to correct errors in the captions. If one needs the captions this book is a valuable resource to ensure the viewer gets the correct words and, therefore, understands what Dr. Bronowski is presenting.
Remarkable!.......2006-08-09
If you're looking for a book that will show you how man made it from day 1 to the present, while encomapssing ALL disciplines and not science alone, you've found the right book! It's is incredible how simply and interestengly Mr. Bronowski has accomplished such a feat. You won't be able to put it down!
Inspired many copiers but is still the best..........2006-06-17
Previous reviews don't do Bronowski justice. He began as a mathematician; but after being sent to Hiroshima, as part of a team studying the aftereffects of the nuclear blast, he switched to biology. He was warm and articulate. A poet himself, he was one of the few people who truly understood the English poet William Blake, although (unlike most of his writing) his essays about Blake could use some explaining themselves. He was a highly moral man and did two original things you don't see many others even attempting: He saw the "doing" of science as an act every bit as creative as composing a symphony or writing a poem -- and he explained it in that way -- and he sought a structure for rationalizing morality and ethical behavior that did not rely upon religious precepts. The Ascent of Man is a very personal work, and it says so in its subtitle. It pretty much echos word for word what Jacob Bronowski spoke extemporaneously as he was sent around the world to the places he needed to be in order to explain the ideas he needed to express as he filmed his material for public television. Ironically, I said that very badly: I meant that HE could explain very complex notions with terrific elegance and simplicity. Period. By the way, the process of making the series for TV must have taken a toll, as JB died not long after completing the necessary travels. The Ascent of Man is all excellent but has many especially moving moments. Only one example occurred when JB walked fully clothed and shod into a pond at Auschwitz in acknowledgment of family and friends and fellow countrymen whose ashes were dumped there by fascists who laid claim to a handle on absolute certainty. Read this topnotch book, then find more by him. And if you're thirsty for more, try a little Loren Eisely as well. The accomplishments of humankind as explained by thoughtful scientists can prove wonderfully exhiliarating.
Very good, but don't expect Cosmos.......2005-08-16
This is one of the first, and one of the better, history of science sorts of series. If you enjoy history and science, then its worth watching. But the program, and to a lesser extent the book, in my mind suffer from a serious flaw: namely; that the author can not seem to divorce himself from his own religious views, which intrude at a number of times in the program. How can I take someone seriously who is speaking about archeological history, while at the same time speculating about the Biblical conquest of Jericho? There is a disconnect here that leaves you wondering. One can always quibble about what major scientific advances are noteworthy, and different authors have seized upon various individuals; but we have in this series nothing out of the ordinary. Looking at "Cosmos" or "The Day the Universe Changed" is much more fulfilling, from an intellectual standpoint, but its still worth purchasing and enjoying.
Is available on DVD.......2005-01-01
This series has been available on DVD for about 2 years or so from Ambrose Video. The price is high.
Book Description
The Ascent of Humanity is a radical exploration of the history and future of civilization from a unique perspective: the human sense of self. Eisenstein traces all of the converging crises of our age to a common source, which he calls Separation. It is the ideology of the discrete and separate self that has generated these crises; therefore, he argues, nothing less than a "revolution in human beingness" will be sufficient to transform our relationship to each other and the planet. And this revolution is underway already. In all realms of human endeavor, an Age of Reunion is emerging out of the birth-pangs of a planet in crisis. The range and depth of Eisenstein's thesis is breath-taking. Encompassing science, religion, spirituality, technology, economics, medicine, education, and more, he details a vast paradigm shift reflecting a more fundamental shift in the human sense of self. Even in this dark hour, he says, a more beautiful world is possible -- but not through the extension of millennia-old methods of management and control. The convergence of crises is revealing the final bankruptcy of those methods. Soon, he says, we will abandon the Babelian effort to build a tower to Heaven, as we realize that the sky is all around us already. Then, we will turn our efforts to creating a new kind of civilization, a conscious civilization designed for beauty rather than height.
Customer Reviews:
Magnificent!.......2007-04-11
An awe-inspiring new work, for which the author most certainly deserve to profit. A truthful, lucid assessment and heartening vision for the beautiful world we know is possible after the inevitable Dark Night of the Collective Soul. How refreshing and rejuvenating in a time and place that is altogether distracted and saddening! In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "I rubbed my eyes a little, to see if this sunbeam were no illusion; but the solid sense of the book is a sober certainty. It has the best merits, namely, of fortifying and encouraging."
Beautiful and life-changing.......2007-03-27
"The Ascent of Humanity" explores the divine world that we are each a part of. Reading it, you start to look at every aspect of your life differently. The beautiful world described in this book is not only "possible"; it already exists!
Study this book and ASCEND.......2007-03-20
Eisenstein convincingly develops the thesis that humanity has succumbed to the dismal end game of the Technological and Scientific Programs. He describes the Scientific Program as the attempt to understand every phenomenon through the application of the Scientific Method -- extending reductionism, measurement, classification, and enumeration inappropriately to aspects of existence or relationships where they do not apply. The Technological Program seeks to control nature, and thereby often disrupts it through unintended consequences. The usual, and usually incorrect, response to these blunders consists of more technology; more control. He argues that cooperation between life forms may prove much more important to evolution than competition. He shows how the prevailing materialistic world view, one seeking to isolate Man from hostile nature, colours seemingly objective scientific theory.
By focusing on self organizing systems of increasing complexity, he spotlights how matter literally tends to "come alive". The Divine exists not as a remote, possibly disinterested deity, but rather in every bit of the extant World.
The time has come for Humanity's next big step. We need to recognize that only imaginary, arbitrary boundaries divide the individual from the rest of the Universe. The "out there" and the "in here" exist only as concepts, not as valid categories delimiting our physiological and mental domains. We live in a world of abundance, where cooperation, not a paranoid "me vs. the hostile other" perspective should inform our philosophy.
This book might just catalyze a paradigm shift affecting science, economics, psychology, and theology. You will find it much easier to read than this review, and a lot more fascinating.
Customer Reviews:
auntie.......2007-09-02
The magic bus series is very enjoyable. As swimming season started we learned about sinking and floating. I know he gets it when he tells me what we have to do to make things sink or swim in the pool.
Great Book!!!.......2007-01-22
This is a great book! My son loves all of the Magic School Bus books. The characters are fun and interesting. There is lots of good scientific information.
This book has more 'ups' than 'downs'.......2000-06-11
Since children love 'The Magic School Bus' television show, this book about sinking and floating will be sure to grab the attention of those inquisitive young minds! It serves as a great asset to a science classroom, or your own home library. Although it is kind of lengthy, I highly recommend it for insurance of complete understanding of the sinking and floating process. Happy reading!
Book Description
In
Infinite Ascent, David Berlinski, the acclaimed author of The Advent of the Algorithm, A Tour of the Calculus, and Newton’s Gift, tells the story of mathematics, bringing to life with wit, elegance, and deep insight a 2,500-year-long intellectual adventure.
Berlinski focuses on the ten most important breakthroughs in mathematical history–and the men behind them. Here are Pythagoras, intoxicated by the mystical significance of numbers; Euclid, who gave the world the very idea of a proof; Leibniz and Newton, co-discoverers of the calculus; Cantor, master of the infinite; and Gödel, who in one magnificent proof placed everything in doubt.
The elaboration of mathematical knowledge has meant nothing less than the unfolding of human consciousness itself. With his unmatched ability to make abstract ideas concrete and approachable, Berlinski both tells an engrossing tale and introduces us to the full power of what surely ranks as one of the greatest of all human endeavors.
Customer Reviews:
Egregious historical error........2007-05-28
Just for the record, Paul Dirac was British, not French as asserted by Berlinski on page 8. Dirac was born in Bristol and held the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge and built the mathematical foundation for quantum electrodynamics. Dirac has been written about extensively. It is amazing that a book that purports to be "a short history of mathematics" doesn't have anyone checking facts, proof reading, or editing. One loses interest after encountering a major flub so early in the book.
Wonderfully readable Math major events from 400BC to now.......2006-12-29
I recall "sipping from the fire hydrant of knowledge" during my University days and have felt for decades that I missed some of the big ideas in Mathematics. I wanted a chronological mental map. This enjoyable 181 page book covers the big topics from Pythagoras to Galois through Gauss to Mandelbrot in sufficient detail to allow me to understand who did what when and why it matters. David did a much better job explaining Galois's group theory ideas for proving the quintic unsolvable by radicals than the recent book "The Equation that couldn't be solved". Somehow I never understood the infinitesimals versus limit method proofs of Calculus but David made it clear. I am much indebted for this book, it has cleared up many long standing gaps in my admittedly meager grasp of mathematics.
A 4 for content...a 2 for usefulness.......2006-12-20
This book has bouts of brilliance but was short on usefulness. I found myself time and again asking what the point of this book was. I wasn't sure if Berlinski was happy that math has taken the turns that it did or if he is waiting for the next mathematical revolution.
I'm not sure that I would recommend this book to anyone because I don't know what type of person would find it remotely intriguing.
Perfect Delivery.......2006-06-29
The book I had ordered was delivered in time and in perfect conditions, just as expected.
With Berlinski, you get more than you expect, not less. .......2006-05-19
Berlinski is a stunning writer with a rare mind - he discerns the almost invisible nerve in the tissue of his subject. And he's seeing something ...
Book Description
Featuring more than sixty groundbreaking short stories by modern science fiction's most important and influential writers, The Ascent of Wonder offers a definitive and incisive exploration of the SF genre's visionary core.
From Poe to Pohl, Wells to Wolfe, and Verne to Vinge, this hefty anthology fully charts the themes, trends, thoughts, and traditions that comprise the challenging yet rich literary form known as "hard SF."
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-08-01
This is a monster collection. Also a very impressive anthology, as it weighs in at a 3.81 story average. This is after over SIXTY stories, that have been put together to illustrate different styles of hard SF story and story telling, put together in three sections.
There is commentary on each author and their manner of writing and career in general.
The editor also gives a different style grouping at the end, if you decide to look at it this way. A 1000 page tome basically that is a must have for those interested in the subject.
Ascent of Wonder : Nine Lives - Ursula K. Le Guin
Ascent of Wonder : Light of Other Days - Bob Shaw
Ascent of Wonder : Rappaccini's Daughter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ascent of Wonder : The Star - Arthur C. Clarke
Ascent of Wonder : Proof - Hal Clement
Ascent of Wonder : It's Great to Be Back - Robert A. Heinlein
Ascent of Wonder : Procreation - Gene Wolfe
Ascent of Wonder : Mimsy Were the Borogoves - Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
Ascent of Wonder : Davy Jones' Ambassador - Raymond Z. Gallun
Ascent of Wonder : The Life and Times of Multivac - Isaac Asimov
Ascent of Wonder : The Singing Diamond - Robert L. Forward
Ascent of Wonder : Down and Out on Ellfive Prime - Dean Ing
Ascent of Wonder : Send Me a Kiss By Wire - Hilbert Schenck
Ascent of Wonder : The Xi Effect - Philip Latham
Ascent of Wonder : A Descent into the Maelstrom - Edgar Allan Poe
Ascent of Wonder : Exposures - Gregory Benford
Ascent of Wonder : The Planners - Kate Wilhelm
Ascent of Wonder : Beep - James Blish
Ascent of Wonder : Drode's Equations - Richard Grant
Ascent of Wonder : The Weather Man - Theodore L. Thomas
Ascent of Wonder : Transit of Earth - Arthur C. Clarke
Ascent of Wonder : Prima Belladonna - J. G. Ballard
Ascent of Wonder : To Bring in the Steel - Donald M. Kingsbury
Ascent of Wonder : Gomez - C. M. Kornbluth
Ascent of Wonder : Waterclap - Isaac Asimov
Ascent of Wonder : Weyr Search - Anne McCaffrey
Ascent of Wonder : Message Found in a Copy of Flatland - Rudy Rucker
Ascent of Wonder : The Cold Equations - Tom Godwin
Ascent of Wonder : The Land Ironclads - H. G. Wells
Ascent of Wonder : The Hole Man - Larry Niven
Ascent of Wonder : Atomic Power - John W. Campbell
Ascent of Wonder : Stop Evolution in Its Tracks - John T. Sladek
Ascent of Wonder : The Hungry Guinea Pig - Miles J. Breuer
Ascent of Wonder : The Very Slow Time Machine - Ian Watson
Ascent of Wonder : The Beautiful and the Sublime - Bruce Sterling
Ascent of Wonder : The Author of the Acacia Seeds - Ursula K. Le Guin
Ascent of Wonder : Heat of Fusion - John M. Ford
Ascent of Wonder : Dolphin's Way - Gordon R. Dickson
Ascent of Wonder : All the Hues of Hell - Gene Wolfe
Ascent of Wonder : Occam's Scalpel - Theodore Sturgeon
Ascent of Wonder : giANTS - Edward Bryant
Ascent of Wonder : Time Fuze - Randall Garrett
Ascent of Wonder : Desertion - Clifford D. Simak
Ascent of Wonder : Kyrie - Poul Anderson
Ascent of Wonder : The Person from Porlock - Raymond F. Jones
Ascent of Wonder : Day Million - Frederik Pohl
Ascent of Wonder : The Cage of Sand - J. G. Ballard
Ascent of Wonder : The Psychologist Who Wouldn't Do Awful Things to Rats - James Tiptree Jr.
Ascent of Wonder : In the Year 2889 - Jules Verne
Ascent of Wonder : Surface Tension - James Blish
Ascent of Wonder : No No Not Rogov! - Cordwainer Smith
Ascent of Wonder : In a Petri Dish Upstairs - George Turner
Ascent of Wonder : With the Night Mail - Rudyard Kipling
Ascent of Wonder : The Longest Science-Fiction Story Ever Told - Arthur C. Clarke
Ascent of Wonder : The Pi Man - Alfred Bester
Ascent of Wonder : Relativistic Effects - Gregory Benford
Ascent of Wonder : Making Light - James P. Hogan
Ascent of Wonder : The Last Question - Isaac Asimov
Ascent of Wonder : The Indefatigable Frog - Philip K. Dick
Ascent of Wonder : Chromatic Aberration - John M. Ford
Ascent of Wonder : The Snowball Effect - Katherine MacLean
Ascent of Wonder : The Morphology of the Kirkham Wreck - Hilbert Schenck
Ascent of Wonder : Tangents - Greg Bear
Ascent of Wonder : Johnny Mnemonic - William Gibson
Ascent of Wonder : What Continues What Fails... - David Brin
Ascent of Wonder : Mammy Morgan Played the Organ; Her Daddy Beat the Drum - Michael F. Flynn
Ascent of Wonder : Bookworm Run! - Vernor Vinge
Clonepacks come in tens.
4 out of 5
A sad story of a use for 'slow glass' technology that traps light for an extended period of time.
3 out of 5
Chastity death touch defence.
3.5 out of 5
Jesuit crewing for amusement finds supernova technology treasure cache is Star of Bethlehem reference point.
3.5 out of 5
ET space chemistry tale.
4 out of 5
Groundhogs too dumb for lunar couple.
4 out of 5
Microverse maker.
4.5 out of 5
A technology discovery is beyond the adults, but definitely not the children, with unforeseen results.
4.5 out of 5
Busted bathysphere first contact prison escape passenger.
3.5 out of 5
Supercomputer overlord subservience breaking point.
4 out of 5
Asteroid music and metal from micros
4 out of 5
Drifters and grifters dragooned due to space station rain problem.
3.5 out of 5
Giant squid shagging.
4.5 out of 5
Spectrum shrinking supremely serious.
4 out of 5
Sea storm spinning around survival.
3.5 out of 5
Astronomical observations.
3 out of 5
Monkey brain business.
3 out of 5
Spook space tricks and tech of time communication.
4 out of 5
Mathematical understanding.
3.5 out of 5
Meterological political power struggles.
4 out of 5
Marsnaut's useful ending.
3.5 out of 5
Mutant girl, plant music, big spider.
3 out of 5
Whore governess troubleshooter happiness hire finds out space can be interesting.
4.5 out of 5
Unified field theory discovery lost in hormone wash, perhaps.
4 out of 5
Outer space undersea visit has terrorist plan. Extemporaneous Jupiter project plan convinces laser wielder to desist.
4 out of 5
Teleportin' time-shiftin' meteor shootin' dragon recruitin'.
4.5 out of 5
Lower down stranding.
3.5 out of 5
Kid is a waste of oxygen.
5 out of 5
Give tanks a try.
3.5 out of 5
Quantum black hole is ridiculous overkill.
3.5 out of 5
Gravity busted = very bad.
4 out of 5
Creationists are boring nerds.
3.5 out of 5
Pet. Very large.
3 out of 5
Step back before forward.
4 out of 5
Copying what a dragonfly does is rather complex.
3.5 out of 5
Lower order communication.
3.5 out of 5
Irradiated recollections.
4 out of 5
Interspecies communication has much wider importance.
5 out of 5
Physical ambiguity.
4 out of 5
People alteration protection.
3 out of 5
Bigger mutants the solution.
4 out of 5
Supralight supernova situation.
4.5 out of 5
Altered man mission adds a mutt.
4.5 out of 5
Supernova human alien telepathic communication ending prolonged.
4 out of 5
Alien scientific interference.
5 out of 5
Stored love.
3.5 out of 5
Cape Kennedy beached red.
4 out of 5
People experiments maybe more fun.
3.5 out of 5
Future seems like the same old, if you are there.
3 out of 5
Mini water men fancy space travel.
3.5 out of 5
Soviet science couple's brain needle journey.
4 out of 5
Orbital-Earthworm relationships and differences with brainwashing meltdown muscular mayhem.
4 out of 5
Postal progress still has the odd issue.
4 out of 5
Recursive rejection.
4 out of 5
Prose patterns.
3 out of 5
Jury rigged for continuing speed perhaps pointless.
4 out of 5
World project.
3.5 out of 5
Immortal humans breed too fast for the universe.
4 out of 5
Zeno even immune to amphibian Atom.
3.5 out of 5
Colors and war.
3 out of 5
Sociology maybe can do something.
3 out of 5
Chrononauts sea save.
3.5 out of 5
Tesseract visions.
3.5 out of 5
Memory boy, samurai girl, cyborg dolphin hook up.
4 out of 5
Black hole and baby making.
4 out of 5
Ghost physics.
4 out of 5
Chimp gets computer brain, leaves because he prefers sf and Tarzan to history.
4 out of 5
The Definitive Hard Science Fiction Collection.......2007-02-20
If you're a fan of hard science fiction, you need to own "The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF." Period. Even if you have, as I do, a large collection of hardcover and paperback science fiction books that collectively contain many of the stories reprinted in this volume, you still need it.
As you might expect, many of the stories are from the "Golden Age" of the 1940's and `50's: you'll find classics such as Hal Clement's "Proof" (1942), James Blish's "Surface Tension" (1952) and Tom Godwin's haunting "The Cold Equations" (1954). Representing later years are such riveting tales as Theodore L. Thomas' "The Weather Man" (1962), Bob Shaw's "Light of Other Days" (1966) and Donald Kingsbury's "To Bring In the Steel" (1978). The 67 stories in "The Ascent of Wonder" make up a fantastic smorgasbord of the best hard science fiction of all time. But wait, there's more...there are three essays, totaling about 30 pages, on hard science fiction, written by editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Kramer and noted author Gregory Benford. Each story also contains a relatively short (half a page or so) but exceptionally insightful introduction. These alone make "The Ascent of Wonder" worth having.
With 990 pages of small, dense type, this volume is big and heavy. But even if you have to put an extra brace on your bookshelf to hold the weight, you should buy it. Quite simply, there is no better compilation of the imaginative, speculative, science-based stories that form the genre's "visionary core."
Semi-Hard Sort-of New Wave Science Fiction.......2007-02-20
This is a massive and ambitious work. High quality and a lot for the money. I felt somewhat deceived by the title though. Many of the stories seem to define Hard Science Fiction by illustrating an exception to the rules. The editors seem to have gone out of their way to include nontypical examples and surprise us with authors that we didn't expect. H.G.Wells? OK. Rudyard Kipling? I don't think so. J.G.Ballard. Not really. At least, not MY definition. See my list: The Scientist/Engineer/Inventor Hero in Science Fiction
This book ROCKS........2005-08-17
Excellent!!!! WELL worth the money. I've been slowly chipping away at it for over a year now. You really get alot of book for the money here, and most of the stories are very interesting. The editor's notes/prefaces are also very good and informative, I've learned alot about the genre. Don't even try to get it from the library, you have to buy it to savor it in stages. Good luck, it's a mind-blower!
Excellent Hard Science Fiction Anthology.......2005-01-07
Perhaps the best of its kind, "The Ascent of Wonder" is quite large, but full of thoughtful and thought-provoking stories, all based in scientific fact (or widely accepted supposition). Clearly these stories are all fiction, playing out ideas that science has created and extending them into the realm of the "what-if?" I was immensely impressed by the range of authors, dates of pubication -- ranging from 1800's pioneers Verne, Wells, and Kipling through to modern-day masters such as Clarke, Dick, Gibson, and Benford -- and variety of stories. Truly a fine example of the growth of Science Fiction through history. A must-read for those interested in the exploration of science and the future.
Book Description
Why do some things float and others sink?
Does a small, wide container hold more than a tall, thin one?
How can you make a toy boat that floats sink to the bottom of the bathtub?
Book Description
Islamic movements in North Africa have historically been distinguished from their counterparts in other parts of the Arab world because they have demonstrated a marked willingness to work within the political system and have at times even been officially recognized and allowed to participate in local and national elections. As a result, Islamic thinkers from the Maghrib have produced important writing about the role of Islam and the state, democracy, and nonviolent change. In this book, Emad Shahin offers a comparative analysis of the Islamic movements in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, exploring their formation and expansion in the late 1960s and the tenets of their ideology for social transformation.
Average customer rating:
- Fight Club meets Top Gun and Apollo 13
- imperfect, frustrating and absorbing
- Unusually Good 'Aviation Fiction'
- His dedication was the best part
- Excellent Entry into Historical Fiction
|
Ascent
Jed Mercurio
Manufacturer: Jonathan Cape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary
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| Literature & Fiction
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Historical
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General
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ASIN: 0224081306
Release Date: 2007-03-27 |
Book Description
A truly stunning novel — spare, powerful and ultimately awesome — Ascent will propel Jed Mercurio into the first rank of British novelists.
Yefgenil Yeremin is a flyer and he is a phantom.
In the Korean War he shoots down more American jets than any other pilot in history. He becomes the legendary ace dubbed “Ivan the Terrible.” But the Soviet Union’s involvement in Korea must be kept secret, so his name remains unknown, his victories uncelebrated.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Fight Club meets Top Gun and Apollo 13.......2007-07-15
Extremely graphic and beginning leading into a middle section that is a lot like top gun and then a finish with Apollo 13. Jed Mercurio pulls all these elements together into a very readable and compelling book. Loved all the action in the middle of the book, and during that part of the read it was very hard to put down.
imperfect, frustrating and absorbing.......2007-07-01
Much of the following review will try to compensate for the negatives I've seen in the other reviews.
You know what it's about - the synopsis not only tells you exactly what the basic story is about, it basically eliminates all surprise. However, for the faulst that other reviews here have aptly cited, "Ascent" is still a worthy read. Much as the flap describes, "Ascent" follows the unlikely life of a Soviet orphan who finds his way to the Cosmonaut program. Yefgenii first tangles with glory flying MiG-15 jets in the skies over Korea, one of the "Honchos" of the Soviet VVS who fly their Soviet-built jets in North Korean markings. His job is "to kill jets" of the UN forces, mostly Sabres and some RAF Meteors, an occupation with which he will excel with murderous precision. After rising to the pinnacle of "Ace of Aces", often crossing oaths with future astronauts, Yefgenii's final flight will see him returned in ignominy. He will spend the next 15 or so years patroling the Soviets' arctic frontier in a MiG-17PFU against western spy -planes. All but bereft of hope for a new war which might return him to glory, Yefgenii regularly patrols the arctic skies until "min-fuel". At the last moment (for his age) Yefgenii is virtually rehabilitated - under an assumed name, he is allowed to join the Cosmonaut core. It's 1968, and a series of mis-steps have allowed the Russian space effort a fighting chance of beating the Americans to the moon. In Russia, the moon is worse than an avowed lost-cause: the Soviets, knowing the moon is already an American footstool, proclaim that there was never a race to begin with. Secretly, they ready their slip-shod hardware (a dangerously over-engined launcher, and a lunar-ship stack that cannot be traversed without EVA) for one final stab at beating NASA. Yefgenii - already a man who technically doesm't exist - is the perffect candidate for a mission that need not be reported if it fails. In the wilderness of cislunar space, Yefgenii's emotional shell will be pealed like an onion, and he will learn the true meaning of survival.
This was an especially frustrating book. Yeah, the .22 shell was a minor error, but an unneccessary one that highlights what's wrong with much of the combat sequences. The author didn't have to say what kind of shell it was - but this was only one example of much of the unneeded and often intrusive information that the author jacks in. Maybe Mr. Mercurio doubted his grasp on he science of air combat, and decided that the only way to maintain his "street cred" in aviation was to toss in repeated reminders of more famous pilots and their histories - reminding us that Yefgenii was sharing the skies with John Glenn, Neil Armstrong & Ted Williams. The effect was pretty nifty the first time, but Comrade Mercurio abuses the privilge. When he's not reminding us about the legends patrolling the skies on the other side of the Yalu, Mercurio makes other needlessly histrionic leaps, ramming into the story all sorts of historically important tidbits that would be relevant if "Ascent" wasn't supposed to be an intensely personal story. Mercurio so compulsively leaps to the Astronautica website for filler that Yefgenii is frequently shunted aside in his own story. (No wonder he's emotioanlly remote.)The error is even more glaring because Soviet censorship likely meant that Yefgenii was entirely in the dark about much of the information that Mercuior uses to fatten his story. This means that Yefgenii is sharing a book with a story for which he has no frame of reference. Readers who were frustrated by the lack of focus in "Flyboys" will find all-too familiar airspace in "Ascent". Yefgenii himself is an especially weak character around which to form a story of survival - he's basically a big blank, lacking any concrete motivation.
Admittedly, this wouldn't be a problem were "Ascent" not the effectively personal book that it finally becomes in its final chapters. Even the flight scenes, admittedly imperfect, are at least as absorbing as those of vets routinely hailed for their realism. If "Ascent" is not an exhaustively researched book on the technology of Apollo-era spacecraft, it manages an epic-performance as one. Mercurio leaves "The History Channel" behind, weaving technology and human drama into a heartfelt inquisition of the human spirit and the nature of heroism. "Ascent", in its flap asks "what if the Americans weren't firsat", typifying the question as "chilling". By "chilling" Mercurio doesn't mean that the result of the moonrace would have fundamentally changed the course of history beyond Apollo's iconic value. Rather, Mercurio wonders about what sort of world harnesses immense desperation, and then casts it out into the cold void.
This was a thin book that consumed an entire afternoon. All throughout, I knew it was a frustrating read, and one I never put down.
Unusually Good 'Aviation Fiction'.......2007-05-07
Is 'aviation fiction' a genre? 'Ascent' reminded me of 'The Flight of the Intruder'. A really well written story about an unusual person. A (fictional?) Russian jet fighter 'ace of aces', though Soviet pilots 'never' flew in Korea, who went on to be the (fictional?) first person to land on the moon, in the failed Soviet lunar mission we never knew of. Apparently, the Soviets were expert at 'disappearing' those they regarded as unsuccessful, and rewriting history to support this. Written from the perspective of a 'cosmonaut', so some will find it dry. There is the matter of the .22 caliber anti-aircraft shell, which seems an amateurish error, yet an unimportant one.
His dedication was the best part.......2007-04-25
I won't bore you with re-capping the plot. It's all there in the synopsis and in some of the other reviews. The novel is broken into sections, with each one detailing some portion of the protagonist's life. The first section, dealing with his youth, is, well, "disgusting" springs to mind. The main section of the book deals with Yeremin flying in Korea and becoming the highest scoring jet ace of all time. The air combat sequences are pedestrian at best but when the author has "Ivan the Terrible" in combat with F-86's and is wounded by a ".22-caliber"(What?! How'd THAT happen? F-86's had .50 caliber guns. Was Yeremin wounded by some plinker in Korea?). Obviously no one edits for facts any more.
Mercurio throws real people into the fray and does a creditable job in the afterword straightening out the record that he altered. All in all, the story had promise, but the execution was flawed and Yeremin is easily one of the most unsympathetic characters I can recall in recent fiction.
But if there's redemption,it's the dedication: To those who actually did the jobs. In any event, this is another flying novel that ends with controlled flight into terrain. I'm beginning to think that writing good flying novels is a lost art. Sad.
Excellent Entry into Historical Fiction.......2007-04-10
I was very impressed with this novel by Jed Mercurio. Having been an avid reader of historical fiction for quite some time, it was refreshing to see a new author's take on an era that is often overlooked in historical fiction terms. The story deals with the rise of a Russian from being raised in an orphanage at the end of the second World War to his eventual contribution to the Russian Space Program. Taking themes from similar books on the subject, Mercurio blends fictional accounts with historical ones. This is of particular note when the protagonist of the story happens upon future American astronauts on the field of battle. The book moves along at a decent pace without sacrificing too much characterization. The main character, Yefgeni Yeremin, is the central point of the story and is therefore given the most exposition. We join him on his journey and I couldn't help but compare it to the book and movie "The Blue Max" by Jack Hunter. In that story, the main character Bruno is driven to leave his humble roots behind and become the greatest pilot of the First World War. His passion and desire to be the best comes at the expense of some of his relationships with family and peers but it is what drives the character. Similarly, Yeremin is shown to be in a similar light. For readers looking for the overwhelming detail of an author such as Tom Clancy and the like, you may want to look elsewhere. I could compare it to Jeff Shaara's works as well but whereas Shaara looks to give voice to historical figures, Mercurio reserves his voice to those who are his fictional creation while giving the occasional cameo dialogue to historical figures. While the book is well written, it doesn't delve into the deeper historical aspects of what was going on during the Korean War and eventually during the Russian space program. While it is fiction, there is a bit of truth to the proceedings in that there are still so many classified and hidden stories coming from the old Soviet Union that it is quite possible though not necessarily true, that such events did occur in real life. An excellent second book by an author who I think will see much more readership in the years to come.
Average customer rating:
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Tell Me How Ships Float (Whiz Kids)
Shirley Willis
Manufacturer: Franklin Watts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
Physics
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| Children's Books
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General
| Experiments & Projects
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
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General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
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ASIN: 0531118282 |
Book Description
Walter Hunt's debut novel The Dark Wing was favorably compared to Ender's Game, Babylon 5, Honor Harrington, and C.S. Forester. The publication of the second volume The Dark Path was heralded by Analog as "a quest that may well prove science fiction's version of The Lord of the Rings." The Dark AscentThe war with the zor is long over, and Admiral Marais, the legendary "Dark Wing" is long dead, though some of his companions on that campaign of xenocide still remain, and in the alien philosophies of the past their might exist man's hope for salvation in the very near future.The Dark Path introduced a new alien force into the delicate balance of power .... one that was the actual puppetmaster of the human-zor war and now wishes to bring both worlds under its madness inducing shadow.But the same ancient philosophy of the zor race that prophesized "the Dark Wing" has also foreseen a hero that will meet the new menace --a hero now mystically embodied in a rebellious space commodore by the name of Jackie Lappierre.As armadas clash and outposts fall, the overly confident alien menace is forced to confront a zor human alliance that has been warned, their covert and insidious plans of infiltration now exposed. .... though victory is hardly ascertained for either side in The Dark Ascent.
Customer Reviews:
Joint Review of Dark Wing Series; Solid - 3.5.......2006-01-24
These 4 books - The Dark Wing, The Dark Path, The Dark Ascent, and The Dark Crusade - exhibit many of the standard space opera devices. There are the winged and in many ways admirable aliens, the remorseless insectoid alien adversaries, the hidden powers attempting to manipulate human fates, and the sprawling and somewhat corrupt space empire. There is also more than a touch of mysticism with events mirroring myths of the winged alien species. Nor can it be said that Hunt has done anything particularly novel with these devices.
Nonetheless, Hunt is a more than competent practictioner and these books are a decent read. Hunt does quite well with reasonably tight plotting and characterization. His integration of the mythic elements is better than average. These books are better, for example, than David Weber's very popular books.
Tries hard to be a mystical Science Fiction story.......2005-08-09
"The Dark Ascent" is the third book in a series. In the future mankind has expanded out to the stars, they have colonized many planets, and they meet the zor. The zor is an alien race with wings. They have a long history of developing powers of the mind. Those with strong mental powers are called sensitives.
The first book, "The Dark Wing," told the story of how a war between humans and zor ended. We had hints that another alien race was trying to get the humans to destroy the zor. Our heroes are able to work out a peace. The second book, "The Dark Path," sets the stage for the next struggle with a new alien race. In the second book we meet Jackie Kearny who is put on a quest for a special zor sword, the gyaryu.
In some ways these books feel like "The Fellowship of the Ring." There is a quest for a special item which provides great power. There is a struggle between good and evil, and the struggle occurs on several levels. There are many, many characters, and lots happens.
In "The Dark Ascent" Jackie gets the special sword. The new alien race, the vuhl, is able to take over both human and zor minds. In the first part of the book the vuhl takes several key systems from the human empire. Jackie, and others, work to find ways to protect themselves from the vuhl.
There was heavy emphasis on mystical events. The story often bounces between what is happening in the "real world" and what is happening in a spirit world, and what happened in myth. Often the main characters were portrayed as having little control over their lives, and they were often manipulated. I like my science fiction to be more about the heroes making good choices in hard situations, rather than being tricked because the "zor's god" wanted certain things to happen.
Walter Hunt is still a relatively new Science Fiction writer. He has only written the three books. He writes well. The book moves along well. All in all it is a pleasant story. If another book is written in this series I'll probably read it. If you like mystical science fiction, gives this book a try.
excellent science fiction fantasy thriller .......2004-08-29
The insectoid vuhls have changed the dynamics of the galaxy forcing former enemies, humans and the aviary-like zor, to need one another to survive the hypnotic illusion assaults of this new antagonist. Neither human nor zor is pleased with this new arrangement, but both know the vuhls are very determined and powerful adversaries, who are precise killing machine. However, on Mother Earth, most people see conspiracy behind this latest war and the abrupt switching from deadly opponent to needed ally as just another sham to gain extra funding, support is weak and lessoning.
Meanwhile former Commodore Jackie Laperriere is expected to fulfill a zor prophecy by taking possession of the ancient sacred sword possessed by legendary zor warriors and upon climbing Perilous Stair will become an Ou'u avatar; this will enable her to communicate with the heroic souls that make up the sword. Allegedly deceased Captain Thomas Stone lives and warns Jackie that puppeteers are manipulating the three species into constant warfare, but she wonders what she can do to stop this and who is this Machiavellian race?
This latest "Dark" tale runs on two story lines with the confrontations between species very exciting military science fiction and Jackie's ascension as a fantasy quest. The story line moves along both dark paths at a fast pace, but the switching between the two slows down both subplots as readers need to adjust from macro war to micro quest and visa versa. The cast remains powerful regardless of species although at times it is difficult to peruse the "vernacular, but that also adds to the feel of a cross science fiction fantasy thriller that will please Walter H. Hunt's fans.
Harriet Klausner
Books:
- The Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory: An Introduction
- The Handy Math Answer Book (Handy Answer Books)
- The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty Minutes Inside Biosphere 2
- The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
- The Last Colony
- The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space
- The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800
- The Placebo Chronicles: Strange But True Tales From the Doctors' Lounge
- The Power of Your Other Hand : A Course in Channeling the Inner Wisdom of the Right Brain
- The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
Books Index
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