Book Review: The Oxygen Farmer by Colin Holmes

The Oxygen Farmer
by Colin Holmes (Holmes)

This is a new science fiction title by author Colin Holmes, author of the book Thunder Road, his debut novel. I was intrigued by the cover of this book when it arrived at the library, so I decided to give it a chance. The story is set in the future and mainly takes place on the moon where our main character works and lives. Farmer Millenium (Mil) Harrison produces oxygen which is used by anyone living on the moon or just visiting. Most of his life’s work has been to produce and store oxygen to prepare for Earth’s first mission to Mars. Early on in the story, Mil accidentally falls into an area that has restricted access and discovers a hidden facility that had been buried on the moon before Mil ever came there over 35 years ago. When Mil starts asking questions, attempts are made on his life as well as the lives of anyone he has shared this information with. This government conspiracy goes back to the days of the Reagan administration in the United States and it is possible that the Russians are involved too. So who can he trust? Certainly not the head of the Space Agency, who just happens to be his estranged daughter. This is an excellent book which I expect someone to make into a movie. Think of this book as a cross between The X-Files and The Martian with a little bit of Star Wars thrown in for good measure. I highly recommend this book.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Martian by Andy Weir, the film adapation The Martian starring Matt Damon or the TV series The X-Files by Chris Carter.)

 

( official Colin Holmes web site )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Book Review: Moonshot by Brian Floca

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
by Brian Floca (j629.454 Flo)

Terrific picture-book non-fiction title from author/artist Brian Floca, using the simplest possible terminology (combined with beautiful and highly detailed artwork — both watercolor and acrylic) to capture the basic details of the Apollo 11 mission for young readers. Floca manages to capture the heightened emotional states, and the technical details of what was involved with Apollo 11, without overwhelming kids with too much minutiae.

The opening two-page spread at the front of the book, and the closing two-page spread at the back of the book both feature a lot of the scientific details that are glossed over in the main text. So, in addition to being a a simple but emotional story, this book also provided a true learning experience for kids. I really enjoyed this book!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to check out the extensive list of materials assembled as a booklist on the libraries’ BookGuide resources, called One Small Step… for tons of great Apollo 11 and NASA reading and viewing suggestions! For both adults AND youth!]

[ official Moonshot page on the official Brian Floca web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New Booklist on BookGuide: One Small Step...

Back in July 2019, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Man first stepping on the surface of the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission. Over the past 50 years, but especially in 2019 on that silver anniversary, numerous books have been produced that chronicled the history of NASA and the days before, during and after Project Apollo.

We've added an extensive booklist to the resources on BookGuide, listing all of the materials in the Lincoln City Libraries' collection that chronicle this subject -- books, DVDs, CDs, and even a unique and rare collection of newspaper/magazine articles on microfilm. If you've ever been fascinated by NASA's efforts to reach the Moon and expand the horizons of mankind's knowledge, you'll want to check out the many items included in this "booklist".

Check out the list of recommended materials at the following link: 

One Small Step...Non-Fiction and Fiction about Project Apollo

Book Review: Moonbound: Apollo 11 and the Dream of Spaceflight by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm

Moonbound: Apollo 11 and the Dream of Spaceflight
by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (629.454 Fet)

With last year, 2019, being the 50th anniversary of the first human moon landing — Apollo 11 — I had read quite a few books about that Apollo 11 mission in the spirit of commemorating the anniversary. Moonbound was the first book I read in 2020, after seeing it on our New Books display at the downtown library, and it started off the new year in a magnificent way.

Jonathan Fetter-Vorm is the author/illustrator of this graphic novel look at Apollo 11. He alternates chapters dealing with the build-up to and success of the Apollo 11 moon landing and return, with chapters dealing with various individuals and moments in history that highlight humans’ fascination with the moon (and astronomy) and with the development of the U.S. space program. The Apollo chapters are in full color, while the alternate chapters are all in monotone (for instance, B&W with blue highlights only, or B*W with orange highlights only). These alternate chapters deal with such diverse topics as Johannes Kepler, Nazi scientist Wernher Von Braun, Soviet rocket scientist Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, the Mercury astronauts, Women in the early years of the astronaut program, Margaret Hamilton and the early human computers, and so much more.

Even though I consider myself a space enthusiast, I learned new things from reading this book. Fetter-Vorm’s art style is occasionally a bit crude, but he captures the likenesses of well-known historical figures — the astronauts, scientists, politicians, etc. — very well! And for covering events that took place decades ago, he manages to build up a serious amount of suspense and drama. I particularly appreciated his closing chapters, which talk about the role of the space program in the years after Apollo, and the ongoing historical debate over whether the entire Apollo program was an appropriate and effective use of taxpayer funds.

I found this an absolutely engrossing read. I especially recommend it for anyone looking for a good overview of the Apollo program, but who isn’t willing to commit themselves to a large, text-only format!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to check out the One Small Step booklist, filled with additional recommended materials for Apollo Program enthusiasts! (coming soon)]

[ official Moonbound page on the official Jonathan Fetter-Vorm web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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DVD Review: First Man

First Man
[DVD First]

Oscar winners Damien Chizelle and Ryan Gosling, who worked together on La La Land, reunited to work on this marvelous film about Neil Armstrong as he was selected to be part of the Apollo program, assigned to be the leader of the Apollo 11 mission, and ultimately was the first man to set foot on the surface of the Moon. The film is based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen. In addition to Gosling as Armstrong, the film also stars Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciarán Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, and Lukas Haas.

The film is far more a biographical portrait of Armstrong than it is an exploration of the Apollo program and Apollo 11 mission. While those significant events form an important backdrop to the movie’s plot, it’s most emotional moments come in looks at Armstrong’s personal life. Neil Armstrong was historically known as a rather reserved individual, and Gosling plays that very effectively — in fact as I sat in the theater watching this film, I almost felt he was too emotionally disconnected. But, in retrospect, the film portrays his reaction to the loss of his young daughter very realistically — a loss that results in a very poignant moment when Armstrong actually finds himself on the lunar surface.

The performances in this film are tremendous, as is both the production design (the “look” of the film) and the soundtrack. But the true shining star is the special effects, which won the Academy Award for SFX. In particular, the meticulously recreated sequence in which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin bring the lunar lander to the moon’s surface is nail-bitingly intense. If this was supposed to be primarily about the Apollo 11 mission, I might’ve been a little disappointed in this film. But since it is more a biographical portrait of Armstrong leading up to the moon landing, as indicated by the title First Man, I found this to be an excellent film, well worth the viewing experience.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the From the Earth to the Moon mini-series, To the Moon (a special on NOVA) or In the Shadow of the Moon (a documentary film by Ron Howard), or the Neil Armstrong biographies First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen and Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight by Jay Barbree.]

[Also available in traditional print format.] [ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official First Man web site ]

Read Charlotte M.’s review of Jay Barbree’s book Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight from January 2015

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Reference Resource: Apollo 11's Moon Landing - Specialty Microfilm

Apollo 11’s Moon Landing
[Microfilm 629.454 Apo]

This microfilm reel is one of the library system’s most unusual research resources, especially for space exploration buffs. Though there have been many books about humankind’s first physical visit to the Moon’s surface, written in the over-forty years since that mission took place, none have quite the same sense of immediacy as reading the articles that are included in this microfilm collection. This reel includes over 1000 pages of articles from 16 different newspapers (including The Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post, The Houston Chronicle, The New York Times, and The Washington Post), and over 13 magazines (including Life, Look, National Geographic, Newsweek, Sky & Telescope, Time and U.S. News and World Report), all covering the build-up to the launch of Apollo 11, and the subsequent success of that mission that placed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the moon’s surface. Though the technology of microfilm may seem a bit antiquated in today’s world of digitization, the images on this film capture the world-wide fascination with the Apollo program in a way that a book or a website just can’t seem to manage. If you are a space buff, I highly encourage you to stop at Bennett Martin Public Library downtown and ask to explore this excellent research archive! (B&W printouts can be made of articles for 10¢ per page)

[This review re-printed from March 2011 on BookGuide] [ Apollo 11 page on the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum site ] | [ Interactive Online Recreation of Apollo 11 mission ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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DVD Review: Apollo 11 (documentary)

Apollo 11
directed by Todd Douglas Miller [DVD 629.454 Apo]

This marvelous documentary film was released to theaters earlier in 2019, and is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray just in time for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s mission to the moon in July.

This documentary uses a lot of archival footage which has never been seen before, and was cross-matched with archival audio recordings, to give viewers an opportunity to see and hear elements of the Apollo 11 mission in a way that has never been experienced previously. The film-makers made the decision to not include an omniscient narrative voice, and instead use only the voices and footage as found in the original 1960s footage. In some ways, this leads to a seemingly less-structured method of storytelling, yet at the same time, it introduces an incredible feeling of authenticity and immediacy to what they share with us.

The humanity of the Apollo astronauts shines though, but the incredible spotlight of worldwide attention on them lends them a super-human element as well. But, by following the nuts-and-bolts details of the moon landing mission, viewers can come to a serious appreciation of all the work that went into landing men on the moon for the very first time. Highly recommended!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the documentaries In the Shadow of the Moon, The Last Man on the Moon or Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon. Also the specialized research microfilm reel – Apollo 11’s Moon Landing.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official NASA Apollo 11 web page ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Review: In the Shadow of the Moon: When the Whole World Looked Up (on DVD)

In the Shadow of the Moon: When the Whole World Looked Up
[DVD 629.454 In]

This is an absolutely marvelous documentary, presented by Ron Howard, in 2008, that covers the Apollo space program. Featuring dozens and dozens of exclusive interviews with astronauts and others involved in America’s efforts to land a man on the Moon. Interspersed with the contemporary interviews are numerous examples of archival footage from the space race. The whole is expertly pieced together with unifying music and superb pacing.

If you’re at all interested in space exploration, and this critical period in American history (1968-1972), you’ll love this film. I’ve seen it aired on television a few times, but this DVD set from the libraries includes several “special features”, including filmmaker commentaries, a short piece on the music score for this film, and over 60 minutes of additional interview footage which didn’t make it to the television airings of the documentaries. For space enthusiasts and anyone interested in inspirational stories of scientific underdogs battling long odds.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the feature film Apollo 13.] [ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Sex on the Moon

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History
by Ben Mezrich [629.4 Mez]

The true story of Thad Roberts, a third-year NASA co-op, who stole moon rocks in July, 2002 from a NASA safe and tried to sell them online. So titled because he put a small bag of samples from Apollo 11 on a bed beneath the sheets and he and his girlfriend had sex on the moon rocks. The story begins at high school for Thad as his strictly religious father throws him out of the house for having sex with his girlfriend. They eventually marry while he attends college and wins a co-op to NASA. Thad is living the dream (at least for us space fans) but his marriage is falling apart when he meets a fellow co-op. Spurred by his desire to impress her, he embarks on this insane scheme. Interesting to see how easily he actually accomplished the theft, and wish the author had mentioned how NASA changed security protocols (if they changed protocols and did heads roll?), but as a frustrated space cadet this reader couldn't believe how he threw it all away. It's especially interesting to follow the story of the European rock hound who answers Thad's offer to sell the moon rocks. You'll spend most of your reading time slapping your forehead with your hand saying, "What was he thinking?!" but you can't put down this tale of stupidity until the bitter end. -- recommended by Charlotte K. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available in downloadable audio, book-on-cd formats.]

[ official Ben Mezrich web site ]

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

The Moon Maze Game

The Moon Maze Game
by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes

The Moon Maze Game is the fourth in a sporadic series of novels co-written by Niven and Barnes which revolve around Live Action Role Playing gamers and the Dream Park corporation. The first three books in the series (Dream Park [1981], The Barsoom Project [1989], and The California Voodoo Game [1992]) were all set on earth and involved complex multi-layered plots incorporating quirky characters, believable technological advances and thriller elements. For the fourth book, set decades from now, the action has moved to the moon, where humanity has had an industrial and recreational colony for some time. When the first off-world LARPing game is announced to take place on the moon, the creme-de-la-creme of Gamemasters, Loremasters and regular gamers compete to secure positions in "the game". Among the players is the scion to an African nation's leader, and when terrorists attempt to kidnap him within the framework of the "game", what had been a challenging but ultimately only ego-brusing competition becomes a life-and-death struggle. Trapped within a fictional storyline of Victorian-era space explorers on the moon, the gamers find themselves trying to stay one step ahead of political revolutionaries and mercenaries, with ideological fervor and vengence on their side. This was a solid action-adventure thriller with a good scifi flavor and setting. Those who enjoyed the earlier three books will appreciate the next-generation ties to characters and events set earlier in the timeline. While I enjoyed it and do recommend it, the ending felt a bit rushed, and the "bad guys" were somewhat two-dimensional. Readers should really give Dream Park and The California Voodoo Game a read first! [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the other three books in the series. Also the Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg, in which fantasy Role Playing Gamers find themselves transported to a real world that plays by the game's rules.] -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia entry for Dream Park ] | [ Wikipedia page for Larry Niven ] | [ Wikipedia page for Steven Barnes ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

Apollo 11's Moon Landing

Apollo 11's Moon Landing
[Microfilm 629.454 Apo]

This microfilm reel is one of the library system's most unusual research resources, especially for space exploration buffs. Though there have been many books about humankind's first physical visit to the Moon's surface, written in the over-forty years since that mission took place, none have quite the same sense of immediacy as reading the articles that are included in this microfilm collection. This reel includes over 1000 pages of articles from 16 different newspapers (including The Chicago Tribune, The Denver Post, The Houston Chronicle, The New York Times, and The Washington Post), and over 13 magazines (including Life, Look, National Geographic, Newsweek, Sky & Telescope, Time and U.S. News and World Report), all covering the build-up to the launch of Apollo 11, and the subsequent success of that mission that placed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the moon's surface. Though the technology of microfilm may seem a bit antiquated in today's world of digitization, the images on this film capture the world-wide fascination with the Apollo program in a way that a book or a website just can't seem to manage. If you are a space buff, I highly encourage you to stop at Bennett Martin Public Library and explore this excellent research archive! (B&W printouts can be made of articles for 10¢ per page)

[ Apollo 11 page on the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum site ] | [ Interactive Online Recreation of Apollo 11 mission ]

Have you explored this resource? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.