Mark Russell read and liked Andy's review of Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon:

"There are countless books and documentaries on the U.S. space program and many times more armchair experts on the subject, and so any new account of the space race is bound to encounter criticism. One online reader notes 150 “doozies” in Nelson's...more There are countless books and documentaries on the U.S. space program and many times more armchair experts on the subject, and so any new account of the space race is bound to encounter criticism. One online reader notes 150 “doozies” in Nelson's book, critical lapses like this: “Thor is an ICBM on pg. 113, but downgrades to an IRBM by pg. 117” and “GET is Ground Elapsed Time, NOT ‘General’.”

I, however, think that Nelson’s book succeeds where it counts; it made me marvel at the sheer grandeur of Apollo 11’s accomplishment: landing two men on the moon and returning them home safely. Nelson describes the vast manpower needed to engineer, build, and test the spacecraft, and he notes that while each component was designed for 99.9% reliability, the craft was constructed of over 5 million components. Statistically then, thousands of parts were expected to fail. On Apollo 11, system failure led to at least one hair-raising event, a malfunction of the guidance computer during the lunar landing, requiring Armstrong to manually target and land the LM.

No mere technophile, Nelson highlights the personalities in both the American and the Soviet space programs. On Apollo 11, I read with particular interest about the private lives and professional tensions between Armstrong and Aldrin (after all, there could be only one “first man on the moon.”) and, much later, Aldrin’s decline into alcoholism and depression. (Aldrin has also published a book this year, covering some of the same territory but, presumably, in much greater detail.)

Whether you consider Apollo 11 to be the pinnacle of American technological achievement or merely an act of socio-political machismo (and an extremely expensive one at that), it will forever be remembered as one of the most spectacular outcomes of the Cold War era.(less) "

Mark Russell read and liked Andy's review of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture:

"The “Temple of Cheap” we currently enjoy in the West rests firmly on the modern global economy. In her excellent book, Ellen Ruppel Shell examines the global economic forces that bring us 3-for-1 deals at Target and All-You-Can-Eat shrimp for $15...more The “Temple of Cheap” we currently enjoy in the West rests firmly on the modern global economy. In her excellent book, Ellen Ruppel Shell examines the global economic forces that bring us 3-for-1 deals at Target and All-You-Can-Eat shrimp for $15, and Shell assures us that at least a few of these forces, even we cheapos can appreciate with a clear conscience.

There is the Good: Advances in technology (computerized inventory, container ships) allow products to move efficiently from manufacturers to consumers and at astoundingly low cost, even when circling the globe. There is the Not so Good: By necessity, mass manufactured designs skimp on craftsmanship and selection, and retailers use aggressive discounting and intimate knowledge of consumer psychology to sell an ever-increasing volume of low-quality goods. And there is, of course, the Ugly: Our obsession with cheap means that manufacturing is regularly outsourced to lowest-cost bidders, usually operating in developing countries and offering desperately low-wage jobs, lax human rights, and deplorable environmental conditions.

Shell’s findings probably won’t surprise you, but she assembles her argument—why you should care about the spectacularly cheap prices we pay for consumer goods—from a diverse range of sources, and she does a fine job of condensing the history of retail and volumes of psychological research down to just a few easily-digestible chapters. Also, she weaves into her account some enlightening case studies of select markets and retailers. I found the chapter on Ikea particularly fascinating. I didn’t know, for instance, that flat packing (i.e. products designed for sturdy, low-profile shipment) is one of the innovations that has made Ikea such a wildly successful company.

Shell’s critique of consumer behavior here is of the very softest variety, and that sound you probably hear right now is an activist slamming this book down in disgust. Shell describes herself as unapologetically cheap, and aside from a few snips at capitalism apologists Thomas L. Friedman, her writing is uniformly light-hearted. While Shell is troubled by some of what she finds, she admits that she’ll probably go on seeking out great deals, though perhaps now with a bit more awareness. As others have pointed out, Shell doesn’t provide much in the way of solutions here. Nevertheless, she seems quite upbeat about the future. Shell may not think so, but if you believe that the world is governed by the forces of economics, for craftsmanship and global quality of life at least, the future looks rather bleak.
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