Last Launch: Discovery, Endeavour, Atlantis

Well, I received the book today. I ordered this book a year ago in November, so it had been a long time coming. It is big at 12" long and 10" wide. There is a little bit of text, mostly at the beginnig (including some text from Mark Kelly), but most of the book is pictures of the shuttle taking up almost the entire page. The pictures are beautiful, so clear that you can read the numbers on the tiles. There is a picture of the aft-end of the shuttle with all three engines removed which shows spectacular detail of the insides of that area. There are also stand-alone pictures of the engines and other elements such as the control console at Mission Control. As I was looking through the book, I noticed blank pages in the book; I thought maybe I had a mis-printed book. At the end of the book, however, there are thumbnails of each page, telling you what you were looking at, and it shows the blank pages. I just found that a strange choice. I would have liked the author to use all of that real-estate to display other pictures. However, that does not detract from the overall book. The pictures are amazing, and it is a must for any Shuttle fan.

I bought this book hoping that it would have a number of different angles and photos. Make no mistake - this project is a very impressive piece of work and is beautifully printed on very high quality paper. While the launch photos were mostly shot from fixed (unattended :-) camera positions, I would have liked to see a bit more variety in the photos selected for the book. I still feel it's a very worthwhile piece of work.

The quality of printing for color gloss is just stunning. There is a metallic sheen to some pages that is remarkably intense. Many pages have images that are just jaw-dropping in their beauty, and the book backs them up 100% with the quality of the layout and materials. If you are interested in the subject, buy this book- you won't regret it.

I bought this book after learning about the photographer and this series of photos on Pinterest. While I claim no expertise on photography, I can speak with great authority as a space nerd. And the photos in this book took my breath away. They are stunningly beautiful. The subject matter is unique and off the beaten path. You can almost "smell" the subject matter.One of the best treats I've given myself in a long time.

I purchased this as a gift but will need to order another for myself. This is full of incredible images that are sure to become iconic in remembering the shuttle program. Dan Winters has been able to document these last launches, as well as existing memorabilia of the program, while slathering on a thick layer of bold beautiful art. I love this book, and I love Dan Winters.

One of the most incredible collections of photography ever produced

This is an "art" book. Beautiful close up photos of each of the last three space-worthy shuttles taken during the processing cycle for their last launch. Just enough text so that a reader unfamiliar with the Shuttle will know what they are looking at. Definitely worth the money.

I received my eagerly-awaited copy of this book today. I shouldn't have bothered.It's a good thing, for the authors and editor (if in fact there was an editor), that none of the pages is numbered. The plain truth is that 44 of the 176 pages are blank, and several of the remaining pages contain only a trivial image. If you have been paying attention to the space shuttle program, either in print or on the web, you will not find very much new, or even very much of anything, in this work.University of Texas Press, you should have higher standards for content and layout.I purchased this book at a discount, but even so I'm embarrassed to have bought it.

Yes, some great shots of the launches, but the tonality is a bit too obviously photoshopped.I expected more after seeing his amazing 360 shots of aircraft and spacecraft in the iPad edition of Wired.Oh yes, and neither Amazon, nor Book Depository are any more capable of packaging a book in such a way that it doesn't arrive with the spine bent in or some other marring.Initially I had one from Amazon and it was in a single wrapping of corrugated cardboard. Both ends of the spine had been bashed it. The cardboard wrapping was not damaged, so I conclude someone at Amazon just chucks books around.I returned that and ordered from the Book Depository. That arrived in the same kind of wrapping. This time only one spine end was bent, but it was too minor to complain.However the pages inside are marked with dents where someone has thumbed through the book randomly and roughly.This is not a case where the denting was made in the printing process, because then you can see the dent consistently in the same place. With this one the dents were on about 75% of the pages in different places.I'll buy nice books in shops in future. Amazon cannot deliver art books without making a mess of them. Actually the same goes for vinyl LPs. The arrive all bent up as well.

Basically if you have any interest in space or the shuttle then you have to buy this book.The photographs are very detailed and full page showing you shuttle images that you would never otherwise see.The launch photos are my particular favourite, the power and brutality of the launches is captured perfectly. You can almost hear the deafening roar as the shuttle leaves Earth.Sad to see the shuttle retired but it will always live on with this book.

Very good photographs but there are better books out there if you are fascinated by space. Book was delivered on time and in a very good condition even if the post man did his best to damage it.

I was sceptical about buying this given that there are quite so many free high resolution images to be found online.It's not a cheap book.But the approach to capturing the Space Shuttle era is a pleasant surprise. The quality of the photos, the layout of the book and the books print quality are superb.

Non ho dato 5 stelle piene perché alcune foto sono un po' "riempitive", per far volume, mentre altre sono veramente spettacolari e meriterebbero di essere stampate e appese al muro.Consigliatissimo, un'opera da avere anche a livello storico.