You might know that the US space program helped invent things like Tang, Omega watches, and the Fischer Space pen, but did you know about programs like FLAT (First Lady Astronaut Training)? Author Joe Cuhaj fills the new book Space Oddities with not only fascinating trivia about space exploration, but also about the strange stories that haven't been told to a wider audience.  He explores the animals that sacrificed their lives to help prepare a man for space, and the earliest known space fatalities. 

Fans of NASA history and the Russian space program history will find Space Oddities fascinating. 

Space Oddities is now available.

I will be honest - space absolutely terrifies me. The sheer enormity of what we don't know and have no capability of knowing is just too much for me. Still that vast unknown is fascinating and I love learning about the space race and human capability. This book promised quirky unknown stories about space and I will say that it delivered, both the good and the bad, from the first pizza delivery in space (No One Out Pizza's the Hut!) to the true space race - to be the first to make adult movies in zero gravity. How bizarrely human. A fun read!

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a a copy of this book. It was enjoyable and made me think.

'Space Oddities' was a perfectly okay book. I did come close to quitting the book, because a large portion of the first 40-50% of the book involves an awful lot of tragedy, but the stories eventually got more 'fun'/light-hearted/etc. While the overall content of the book was interesting enough, I think better editing would be a big improvement; There were some chapters that seemed to drag on, taking quite awhile to relate to the chapter titles. There were also several instances where the topics/stories changed pretty abruptly without much of a segue.

Did you grow up in the age of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo? Or are you just a space junkie who hoards details about the space program, actually any space program? Joe Cuhaj fits in both categories. Space Oddities is the outpouring of his obsession with space that began when a 4-year-0ld Joe saw his first rocket launch in 1962.

Joe Cuhaj opens with a look at some of the early space pioneers - Wan Hu, Max Valier, and Wernher von Braun. Von Braun ended up in the USA after WW2 still working with left-over German V-2 rockets. One launch went astray and blew up a cemetery in Mexico - dubbed the only attack on Mexico by Germans from their base in the US of A.. The second chapter covers the role of women in space, both as ground crew, calculators and astronauts/cosmonauts. The role of animals in space has its own chapter. International space exploration such as Zambian Afronauts and the Russo-American cooperation that lead, eventually, to the International Space Station also has a chapter. Cuhaj discusses the objection many made to the cost of space exploration versus spending that money of problems on Earth which also examines how NASA and the Civil Rights marches of the 1960's interacted and affected each other. Another chapter looks at the safety concerns and risk analyses are a matter of life in death in space exploration. Did you know that there were wake-up calls for the space missions? In 1981, the crew of the Columbia were woken up by the crew of USS Swinetrek - "the puns were painful!" this chapter is followed by one in which Cuhaj documents some of the pranks done on various crew members and/or ground crew. Then there is always the issue of what to pack and how much to pack. And for all you coders, there is a chapter entitled "Wrecked by the Most Expensive Hyphen in History." Anyone remember the "space pen" being sold on QVC? This phenomena and other space business stories are listed in "Space is Open for Business" The next last chapter asks the perennial question - "How do you have sex in space?" The final chapter looks back at the Earth and longs to go forth and spread humanity's wings outside the cradle.

Space Oddities is a collection of miscellaneous stories brought together by Joe Cuhaj and bound between the front and back covers. Each chapter could be a launching point for exploration by the interested reader. But the only links between the chapters are that these are the tales Joe Cuhaj choose to share with the reader. Dip in and read what interests you!

Thank you Netgalley and Rowman & Littlefield for access to this arc.

I couldn’t resist asking to read this book given the number of space exploration books I’ve reviewed. To be honest, with this title I was expecting more weird and bizarre – though there were some stories that would fit that category. However as far as space stuff, most of what is here is more along the lines of trivia or, at best, little known.

But what did surprise me is how much information there is about how NASA and Roscosmos actively sought to increase diversity – NASA among their workers and Roscosmos with their cosmonaut corps. No, recruitment wasn’t pushed as far as it should have been for qualified pilots (women and men of color) and people of color in the US still faced ugly racism outside of work facilities in the South but there was more effort made than I’d ever thought. And (oh, the irony) who knew Werner von Braun took on George Wallace over it? The chapter about animals used to further knowledge about space capsule conditions wasn’t fun to read but the sex in space one was.

If you’re looking for facts and trivia to whip out at your next dinner party, “Space Oddities” should fit the bill. B

Space Oddities by Joe Cuhaj is a delightful collection of stories dealing with space exploration and the origins of the US and other space programs.

When I first requested this book, I thought it was going to be a book of interesting factoids about astronauts and space. What I got was so much more! While this book does give lesser known stories that range from humorous to serious, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book put many of the stories in a broader social and historical context, which enhanced the reading experience for me.

I found Cuhaj's writing style to be simple yet informative, and his storytelling kept me engaged with the content throughout. I found this book to be one that could be enjoyed by anybody with or without prior knowledge of the US or worldwide space programs and with or without any sort of specialized scientific knowledge.

Overall, I found this to be an engaging book with interesting stories that kept me entertained and taught me a few new cool things about our astronauts and space programs! I would recommend this to anybody who has an interest in space and with lesser known history related to the space program.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rowman & Littlefield for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

As a big fan of space exploration and the like, I knew most of the stories in here already. Even though, I found the book interesting and informative, with the right mix of humorous and serious stories. Reading about the different pranks and practical astronauts have played on each other was a good contrast to reading about the animals sent into space, some of whom never made it back home. I also enjoyed reading about the struggles of the women trying to become the first astronauts. It's crazy to know that some of them were more qualified than their male counterparts, but weren't allowed to become astronauts simply because of their gender. I am glad we have moved beyond that. The story about sex in space seemed like an odd inclusion at first, until the point is brought up about colonizing Mars or other planets, or being stuck on spaceships for extended periods of time. If we ever get to the point where humans need to leave Earth, reproduction is the only way for the species to continue, so eventually we are going to have to think about some of those hurdles.

For anyone who enjoys books about space or is interested in space exploration and its history, this is a good collection of stories to read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Space Oddities" is a collection of the human stories behind space exploration. Much like in any short story collection - since that's basically what this is, except the stories are true - there were some sections that I found more interesting than others, but Cuhaj's writing is engaging enough to keep you progressing.

Worth mentioning, my copy of the e-book had really messed up formatting that made it sort of hard to read, but I'm sure that'll be fixed in the published edition and hasn't impacted my rating.

This lighthearted exploration contains a number of new-to-me stories of humanity’s exploration of space, and presents the information in a very accessible way.
Unfortunately, the style just wasn’t for me. I found the choice of content and the tone of the writing felt like reading a large museum’s worth of informational signs, collected in a book and without any exhibits to look at. There are probably people for whom this style is appealing. However, while I love a good museum, the format does not translate into an enjoyable book for me. When addressing serious topics there wasn’t enough depth, and the humorous sections were devoid of actual humor.

This book is pitched, by its joyous cover, as a lighthearted collection of NASA anecdotes. In fact, it gets quite philosophical in some moments. A fun read, covering the glory years of the Space Administration. (Anything with Tang in it, has to be good? 😆)

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.

Space Oddities by Jow Cuhaj is comprised of a collection of stories about human's exploits in (and trying to get to) space. I enjoyed reading this book, and I think Cuhaj really strived to humanize the people we grew up hearing about with tales of their practical jokes, musical wake up calls, and lucky peanuts.

Not every story is a happy one, but I think that just makes it all the more important to memorialize the people and animals that sacrificed in the pursuit of knowledge. All in all, I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest in space, as it's a quick and pleasant read.

If you read a lot of books about space exploration, you may know about payload, the Gemini missions or even how astronauts go to the bathroom (thank you, Chris Hadfield!). But did you know about that time when someone pulled a Thanksgiving prank that nearly caused a meltdown? Or how the Russians planned to detonate a nuclear bomb to prove they’d reach the moon? These are just two of the many, many fun details included in this book. Yes, Kennedy is included, with his magnificent speech about getting a man to the moon and back, but there are also the small stories that make up the History. This book made me laugh, cringe and almost cry. Big trigger warning: chapter 3 will be very painful for animal lovers. These are anecdotes more than science, which is fine by me. This is a truly enjoyable read for anyone even remotely curious about space.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Rowman & Littlefield, Prometheus!

This is a great read for fans of history, space travel and space exploration. It did repeat a few stories from time to time. Overall, a fun, engaging book.

This was an entertaining read consisting of a collection of stories about space. It goes into science, history, and even has some pretty funny stories about pranking astronauts. Overall, it was a very satisfying and quick read. I would recommend this to anyone interested in space!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I originally requested this because of the title... made me think of David bowie. Lol. Anyway, it's interesting, I learned things I never knew. Not boring.

An interesting collection of stories concerning mankind's quest to go to space. The author tells us background stories and anecdotes from both the American and Soviet side of the space race. Most people know the general big picture story of this rivalry, but this book goes into details such as the animals who were sent into space, often sacrificing their lives for the advancement of science. There's tales of practical jokes astronauts played with each other. There's discussion about the civil rights and gender rights movements and their impact on NASA. Overall, for someone who has an interest in mankind's space travels, this book is a good, quick read.

I enjoyed this book. I found it well-written with great stories. There was some humor and I loved the author’s tone. There are politics, history and some science in the book. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone interested in space. Thank you to Netgalley and Rowman & Littlefield, Prometheus for the advance reader copy.

(3.25/5) When I saw this book, I immediately thought of Marcia Belsky's classic song "Proof that NASA Doesn't Know Anything About Women" which has a bad habit of randomly getting stuck in my head

"Remember when NASA sent
a woman to space for
only six days
and they gave her
One hundred tampons.
One hundred tampons,
and they asked "will that be enough?"

Sadly, this tidbit of information was not included in the book (although I think Cuhaj would find it hard to surpass Belsky's presentation). Overall, I thought the book was interesting, if a bit repetitive at some points with a couple anecdotes told more than once. I learned a lot and it was the right level of seriousness. I think it covered a mix of funny, thought-provoking, and tragic (still sad about Laika). I wouldn't say that it produces anything new/groundbreaking that you wouldn't know if you were a big NASA/space nerd, but as someone who is generally interested but doesn't take family vacations to Cape Canaveral I thought it was very on the level. A good non-fiction read!

Space Oddities was a fun book to read. Even if you're familiar with the stories, the author manages to highlight an obscure fact, use a great quote, or offer a new perspective. He ties it all together by strking just the right tone and providing a great deal of information for a very readable narrative.

The book follows a fairly linear timeline, beginning with the first Chinese fire arrow before introducing the reader to 20th century (manned) rocket development with the work of Max Valier and subsequently Wernher von Braun. Many, if not all, stories include an international perspective, not limited to the US alone.

Serious topics include the use of animals in launch tests, malfunctions, the integration of women and minorities, and international politics; however, these are appropriately balanced with humorous tales of wake up music, practical jokes, and sex in space.

This is not a technical history and Cuhaj does a fine job bringing out the human element. I appreciated that the author deliberately pointed out that the impressive Women in Space program (nicknamed Mercury 13) was a privately funded venture and not a government/NASA sanctioned project. Animal lovers may find it difficult to read about the sad, though necessary, use of animals.

Overall, there is something for everyone who thinks they "know it all" about the space race. I highly recommend this book.