It's ONLY Rocket Science: An Introduction in Plain English (Astronomers' Universe) 2008th Edition

I used this as the main text for a homeschool science course for my son. The content is meaty and challenging but presented in a very accessible way. I supplemented it with Kerbal Space Program (an orbital mechanics simulator disguised as a video game) and lots of news articles about NASA, SpaceX, and Blue Origin. Our homeschool evaluator was impressed with the content and his understanding of it. Still one of his favorite science years. (Took the course in middle school, but certainly high school level or beyond).

This book was very enjoyable. What I liked most about this book was the ability to explain difficult concepts in an understandable way. I learned so much not only on rockets, but our solar system and the universe itself. I would recommend this book to future engineers, or anyone eager to learn about rockets and space. Very intriguing and intellectually engaging.

I haven't finished reading this yet, but the first third that I have gotten through has been really helpful. I'm new to a lot of what goes into space flight but not the physics and this book has been very thorough and informative.

This book is great for anyone who is not an engineer or non-technical. The book describes the concepts in simplified ways and provides analogies to concepts in everyday life. Recommended for anyone wanting to get a high level understanding of rocket science concepts.

I was thinking a rocket science book would be full of mathematics and equations. This book has none. So if you were looking for a book to help you work through astrodynamic equations look somewhere else, of course that tells you nothing about the book itself...The book claims to be in 'Plain English' and in that it delivers. It explains a lot about the history, challenges, and solutions of space exploration and does so in a concise easy to understand way and I learned quite a bit that I probably wouldn't have learned from a book focusing on equations. However, the information is presented in a rather jumbled format, it seems that some information is in the wrong place or laid out in the wrong order, and in certain instances I wonder if what the author is saying is actual space industry standards or if it just her way of explaining things (e.g. the steps to get a rocket from launch pad to orbit and the seven basic elements of all space missions). There are also very few pictures or tables to reference, which could help people visualize concepts in a book like this.Now, don't get me wrong, I'm very glad I read this book and I'm grateful for the information inside, I just wish it were a bit more polished.

Very well written! Just right for someone who is interested but doesn't want all the technical mumbo jumbo. I picked this up because I'm into Amateur rocketry and wanted more insight into full size and the history.

Informative and easy to read for my 10 year old son.

Please note, this review is based on the Kindle edition of the book.This book does contain good information on the topic but the execution of producing a readable book out of it leaves much to be desired.Other reviewers have mentioned that the information in the book is dated, but for me this is not a real issue. The concepts are not dated but some of the examples are. However this is to be expected from a book about a topic that has undergone significant changes in the last decade.Now the bad stuff.Some of the images in the Kindle version are horrible. The resolution on some of the pictures is so bad as to be barely legible.The biggest issue I have with the book is its organization, or actually the lack of organization. There seems to be no overall layout for the book. On section is explaining a technical aspect of rocket science and in the next the author lays out historical process or procedures.The book has too many references to topics that have or will be covered in other sections. There are references in the appendix to diagrams in other chapters of the book.There is not any real math, which adheres to the non-technical nature of the book but some of the definitions make use of obscure scientific terms that are not always well defined or explained.Overall this could have been a much better book on the topic if it had been edited with a better overarching plan.