Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
Ignition!
- An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
Ignition! is the inside story of the Cold War era search for a rocket propellant that could be trusted to take man into space. A favorite of Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, listeners will want to tune into this "really good book on rocket[s]," available for the first time in audio.
Ignition! is the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. This search was a hazardous enterprise carried out by rival labs who worked against the known laws of nature, with no guarantee of success or safety.
Acclaimed scientist and sci-fi author John Drury Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity. The resulting volume is as much a memoir as a work of history, sharing a behind-the-scenes view of an enterprise that eventually took men to the moon, missiles to the planets, and satellites to outer space. A classic work in the history of science, listeners will want to get their hands on this influential classic, available for the first time in decades.
What listeners say about Ignition!
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bart Pander
- 12-02-20
chemistry history
Great listen but I think only fun for quite knowledgeable people both on mid 20th century history and chemistry on college level.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 28-02-22
Compelling
I build rockets for my day job, what John has done here is give us an insight into the glory days we all take for granted. Written in a candid manner, a must read/listen for any space and rocket fan.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- florekfilip
- 27-01-19
For chemists not wide audience
Overall performance, language excellent. The book is more for people who understand chemistry at the semi-pro level. I expected more insights and stories about use of the propellent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Edward Henry
- 05-06-20
Advanced reading but far from impenetrable gem.
I delayed listening to this for a long time because of other reviews as i have no scientific education (just a layman Spaceflight fan) and was worried it may be a textbook more than a narrative. It is not. It reads almost like the biography of a rocket scientist (although it is much wider ranging than that and i found it entertaining and had a few laughs. The narrator is fantastic at conveying the writers obvious enthusiasm and levity. Large portions of it where over my head certainly but graciously it was far from being the oblivious actor drily mispronouncing his way through chemical equations and statistics charts that I'd feared. I could only name the more common propellants going in and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for recording such a rare and niche book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- tom bunge
- 04-10-19
better to read
it is an interesting book. But it would be better to read as it gets confusing with all the formulas in it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael
- 25-09-19
Interesting
The history in book is great and the reading is done well. however chemical formulas may not translate well to audio book format
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- turok
- 27-11-19
Very interesting topic sailing through the history of rocket propellants.
Probably not the ideal audio book due to significant numbers of chemical and algebraic formulas. Will listen to it again with pen and paper at hand.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful