Magnificent Failure by Craig Ryan
Locked in a desperate Cold War race against the Soviets to find out if humans could survive in space and live through a free fall from space vehicles, the Pentagon gave civilian adventurer Nick Piantanida's Project Strato-Jump little notice until May Day, 1966. Operating in the shadows of well-funded, high-visibility Air Force and Navy projects, the former truck driver and pet store owner set a new world record for manned balloon altitude. Rising more than 23 miles over the South Dakota prairie, Piantanida nearly perished trying to set the world record for the highest free fall parachute jump from that height. On his next attempt, he would not be so lucky. Part harrowing adventure story, part space history, part psychological portrait of an extraordinary risk-taker, this story fascinates and intrigues the armchair adventurer in all of us.Craig Ryan earned a BS in English literature from Reed College in 1977. He attended Brown University's Writer's Workshop for two years, winning the Feldman Award for Short Fiction. In 1982, he got an MA in English literature and writing from Brown University, and the following year, he won the Transatlantic Review Prize for New Fiction. He's also the author of two trip books and has contributed to the computer and electronics trade press with a number of pieces.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781588341419 |
| ISBN 10 | 1588341410 |
| Title | Magnificent Failure |
| Author | Craig Ryan |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Smithsonian Books |
| Year published | 2003-10-17 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |