Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants (Rutgers University Press Classics)

A good history of the subject. Easy to read and the characters of the people involved and the politics, requirements of the paymasters etc are well described. The technical chemistry isn't that much and can easily be ignored yet the story remains fascinting. It actually is understandable rocket science!

The author is clearly one of the people at the forefront of this research - highly specialised as it was - for a period of many decades. His narration - and it is really a narration of What We Did And When - style is highly amusing and accessible. He writes almost as if he were giving a Plenary lecture right before the conference Reception. Some of the stories he tells are hilarious; some literally tragic in multiple horrific ways and some of squirming sales reps forced to make fools out of themselves because 'we need to pretend our product is special' but are talking to engineers that 'Know'. This is a complex subject with a lot of chemical names - and few structural diagrams except when the compounds got really crazy-weird as some did; perhaps this is for the best. Hence you will either need a really good memory for what 'UDMH' / 'IRFNA (red fuming nitric acid)' is - or consult the helpful glossary at the back (a lot). At one point I thought about copying the glossary onto separate sheets for quick consultation. Higher education in Chemistry helps...though only do much as the chemistry is so specialist you either know it very specifically or little more than anything you learned about the reactivity scale of elements (Fluorine as the master) at school is going to help before you start reading. A lot of the challenges were physical (how to stop the fuel freezing at above -56C this being a military requirement for example) or how to get the fuel to 'light' smoothly and political (programs start; money is awarded; companies pile in, fashions change and interests move on to another program that starts). As the author states he expresses his own opinion. He does this fearlessly as one might expect from a person now retired from his senior position with many of his more incompetent - or simply unlucky - contemporaries dead (literally). I'll probably be sending this book out for Christmas presents to some of my more geeky friends in December 2019 having read it myself in 2018.

A good book, and shows the near suicidal risks that people were prepared to take with these volatile chemicals. One thing, I found it to be a bit too detailed for the layman, full of phrases like '... as you would expect ...' when describing a reaction which I found a bit annoying after yet another example of not knowing what to expect. Could do with an edit down to a 'Dummies' version.

Fun account of the development of rocket fuels, with quite a few failures!

A fascinating informal history of liquid fueled rocket propulsion, something that still does not go right as SpaceX found yesterday (21/4/2019). Having just read this book the reporting of the accident and fuel type made a lot more sense. Everyone's interest should be piqued by the statement at the beginning that the chemists and engineers that designed the liquid rocket fuels up the the early 70's when this was originally written were "beyond insane". It was certainly a hairy business, and one wonders what modern safe working practice would have accomplished in the time. However this work was undertaken in the darkest days of the cold war when there was a more complex balance of risks. The book uses a bit of inorganic chemistry to explain what happens, but nothing that someone that did chemistry to the British O level (taken at 16) 50 years ago cannot follow. For those not familiar with basic chemistry the book is still an interesting read and quite understandable if you skip the chemical equations. It is well worth reading, particularly, if like me, you have a geeky interest in all things to do with science, engineering and the military history of the cold war era.

The history of liquid propellants from the 50's to the 70's. The author writes with a great deal of knowledge, with just a little humour here & there. Bangs and smells, I found it very interesting.

This book is a very entertaining look at the insane mad science of rocket fuel development in the 1950s and 60s. While we have settled on a few common rocket fuels now, like RP1/LOX and LH2/LOX, we were toying with such insane things as Chlorine Triflouride, Dimethyl Mercury, and Liquid Ozone. All to very states of cartastrophic fires, explosions and poisonings. This book is written to make you laugh and learn. But when you stop laughing you realise "holy cow, someone was burned alive screaming from contact with Chlorine Triflouride." Truly an entertaining and informative read, let's all be grateful today we aren't toying with this mad science anymore now that we've settled on a few, sane propellants

The author is intelligent and engaging and was clearly intimately involved with a cutting edge industry at a unique period in history. The book however is mainly long lists of obscure and unpronounceable chemicals and their properties. The focus is very narrow and much knowledge is assumed and I doubt anyone who isn't a chemist or engineer in the defense industry is going to get much out of it. For the more general reader it could really do with, for example, on the first page, a diagram and explanation of how a rocket motor works and why you'd need to trial and error all these different compounds so exhaustively. No doubt it was a great time and place to be a chemist but as he says in the intro by the early 60s all possible combinations of propellants and oxidisers had been tried and nothing much has changed since then.

Ignore any old reviews - its a completely new version!!! This much be a new version, because its not a "shoddy pdf" - its a normal text kindle e-book, font is changeable etc Works like every ebook i've had. This is an awesomely entertaining read! Super funny - great wit from the writer. There's a few heavy parts sure, but if you dont understand them - it doesnt detract from the read at all. Its a great read & gives massive insight into the challenges these poor souls had to go through & overcame. Written in a down to earth, informative way.

Pur se scorrevole e divertente, richiede pero ‘ una base di conoscenza di chimica non banale per essere letto. Consigliato.

Habe das Buch aus einem allgemeinen Interesse an Raumfahrt und Raketentechnik gekauft und gelesen. Es handelt tatsächlich fast nur von Treibstoffen, die sonstigen "Hintergründe" beim Entwicklungsprozess kommen kaum vor, das sollte der geneigte Leser vielleicht vorher wissen, der Titel hält hier absolut was er verspricht. Das Buch ist aber sehr kurzweilig geschrieben, zuweilen sehr lustig aber immer informativ und nie langweilig. Man muss auch kein studierter Chemiker sein um das Buch zu lesen, ein wenig Grundwissen sollte man schon mitbringen aber wer in der Schule mal einen Chemiekurs hatte und bereit ist etwas zu recherchieren sollte gut klar kommen und darf sich auf ein spannendes und interessantes Buch über die ersten Jahre der Raketentreibstoffentwicklung freuen. Nebenbei bekommt man auch einen schönen Einblick in den Laboralltag, wie die Forscher damals gearbeitet haben und mit welchen technischen und bürokratischen Hindernissen sie sich herumschlagen mussten. Von mir eine klare Empfehlung für alle die ein gewisses Interesse an Raumfahrt, Treibstoffen und Technikgeschichte haben!

いつの頃からかロケット戦闘機、Me163コメートに取りつかれました。リピッシュ博士設計の小型無尾翼の時代を超越したデザインと時速1000ｋｍに迫る圧倒的なスピード、取扱いに少しでもミスが有ると爆発しパイロットをも溶かす劇薬燃料であるＴ液、Ｃ液の不気味さ、その魅力に引きつられオハイオ州デイトンの空軍博物館に見に行きました。最近、本書の存在を知り副題の「液体ロケット小史」からMe163のウォルター式ロケットエンジンについて知ることが出来るかと思い購入。残念ながら記述内容は著者が携わった1940年代から月面着陸の70年までのアメリカの液体ロケット燃料（燃料と酸化剤）の開発がメインでドイツのそれは全くなし。ただ、果てしない試行錯誤の繰り返しと、極端に発火性、爆発性の高い燃料（例：液体水素）とその燃焼を推進する酸化剤（例：液体酸素）の組み合わせの危険性は、数えきれない爆発例からよく理解できた。SF作家アイザック・アシモフが一般的には無名の著者の紹介文を書いている。その中で、著者は非常に合理的・几帳面で多大な蔵書を項目ごとに分類しており、聖書を見つけその項目を見たら、F（Fiction：小説）。10年以上たち、その事を著者に聞いたら、著者は数多くの爆発、その他予想外の事故にもかかわらず、自分と研究所スタッフが無事だったのは「神のご加護」と信じ聖書をＦ項目棚から移したとの返事。ただ、移した先のコメントはなかったとの事。

Tras mucho tiempo demorando la compra, estuve a punto de quedarme sin un ejemplar, durante al menos 3 o 7 meses! Tuve suerte, pues tras el susto, volvieron a estar disponibles 3 ejemplares, y decidí no perder la ocasión otra vez. Iva a tardar una semana, pero ha llegado en la mitad de días... en perfecto estado, sin dobleces ni bordes desgastados, calentito y oliendo a papel recién impreso! Hace tiempo que tenía ganas de tenerlo, pues allá donde se mencionara como referencia, todos coincidían en tratarse de un libro tanto con información avanzada difícil de recopilar por separado, sin ser exigente en tener que ser un experto en la materia para entenderlo, a la par que lleno de anécdotas descabelladas, y ser tremendamente divertido de leer! Si cumple todas mis expectativas, yo lo compararía con "El tío Tungsteno: recuerdos de un químico precoz" del genial Oliver Sacks! Hasta donde me consta, la única editorial disponible es la que fuera la propia universidad del autor, no se han hecho traducciones, y de hecho, hacía décadas que no se volvía a publicar... por lo que si leer en inglés no es un problema para ti, y aun si fuera un esfuerzo, no te pierdas ésta experiencia!