Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew

Since my son was Cdr Willie McCool this book had a special meaning for me. Additional closure and an account on the events while I was in Houston during the recovery efforts. I give it 5 Dtars plusBarent McCool

The book tells the Space Shuttle Columbia’s last flight and break up on re-entry, and while offering some technical descriptions, is much more focused on the amazing people who searched for the crews’ remains and shuttle debris and those that re-constructed the pieces to help determine what went wrong. There is a wonderful rhythm to the book - Part 1 sets the stage. Part 2 is quite intense with a fast tempo chronicling the re-entry and search for the crews’ remains. Here, you meet ordinary citizens stepping up to do extraordinary deeds under pressure to not only perform well, but to perform quickly. You also see different local and national government agencies working together seamlessly. I cried at the end of this part; not just because of the loss of life but because of the selflessness, generosity and amazing spirit of so many people. In Part 3, we learn about the months-long search for the debris and the tempo of the book slows a bit, becoming more methodically, mirroring this search. The final part of the books brings closure to the search and cause of the accident and reflects back on the lessons learned, the heroics of the all the people involved - the engineers, the searchers, the families of the astronauts. The book is engrossing and educational and I highly recommend it. One piece of advice: read the Notes in the back as you go along - they provide rich information and add power to the stories!

This was an amazing book, both technical on one hand, but so very much a story of the best of America on the other. At the time of the Columbia loss, I was still too unsettled by the visuals of the Trade Center Towers attack and collapse. I had at one time had an office on the 98th floor of the North Tower, and I didn't want the details of the loss of the Columbia. But I'm a nerd at heart, and in spite of a few sessions of tears as I read this book, it is so worth reading now, especially now, as our country is virtually ripping itself apart. This story of literally bringing home both the Columbia crew and the shuttle itself, and the 25,000 people who reverently picked up the remains of man, woman and technology, it somehow made me feel better. It maybe gave me some hope we will be able to prevent our country's wider disintegration, and put ourselves back together once again. And, get our butts back in space. Exploration and imagination of great things ahead often serve to both heal and unify. Go NASA!!

NASA is part of the American fabric. It’s astronauts and mission stand for those ideals that this great country was founded on: pushing boundaries, exploration, and building on those who went before us.Bringing Columbia Home is really a story about America and it’s beloved Space Shuttle. How the iconic NASA and thousands of everyday Americans pulled together in a tragic circumstance to ensure the fallen astronaut’s families had closure and moving the space program forward back to flight.This is a fantastic book and if you’re like me, a kid of the 80s, honors the Space Shuttle which hung on your wall and was as big as your dreams.

Just finishied what I believe to be, the BEST book I've read in the past several years. First off, the story of the Columbia is totally engrossing, but to have the story told by NASA personell, makes it even more interesting. Their involvement with the spacecraft was truly from "birth" to death". The Columbia story is certainly a tradegy, but the efforts to retrieve the wereckage and the remains of the 7 astronauts is a tale that's been told with tremendous detail and sensitivity. The effotrs expended by thousands of people, with unbounding enthusuasm and sensitivity is really something to experience, and it's well communicated throughout this book. I live in Austin, TX, and watched the Columbia disentigrate as it entered the atmosphere that Saturday morning. It has left an imprint on my soul. This book has answered so many questions for me. It has also given me the incentive to make a "pilgrimage" to Hemphill in the very near future to visit the museum. The detail is extraordinary!!!!!

With a title like "Bringing Columbia Home," this book cannot be accused of being misleading. I did not anticipate, however, that the book would be a seemingly endless series of redundant paragraphs describing names that I shall not remember, repeated descriptions of difficult terrains to explore and strategically withheld details.This was truly a struggle to finish and those interested in the Columbia disaster should consider alternatives.

Everybody knows how this story begins. The tragedy of Columbia’s final flight is indelibly seared into our memory. That’s not what this book is about. This is about the thousands of NASA workers, east Texas residents and volunteers from all over the country who literally and figuratively picked up the pieces in an effort to get back into space. This is where the heart and soul of Columbia’s final flight is honored.This book gives an excellent accounting of hundreds of witnesses to the largest recovery effort the world has ever seen. I️ can not recommend this book enough.

Mr. Leinbach and Mr. Ward have written a superb book. It's really a tribute that they can write about the tragedy of Columbia exploding and still convey so much goodness that came afterward -- the humanity shown when so many people found themselves working for a common goal of finding answers and finding tens of thousands of pieces of debris -- some the size of a nickel -- over hundreds of miles. The narrative is fast-paced, and the technical aspects to be told are written sensitively and respectfully. It's almost incredible that such a heartbreaking story would end on an inspirational note, but it does. I just finished reading it and I am going to read it again.

If you're a space nerd like me, you'll want to read this very detailed look at what happened to Columbia, what went wrong, the accident, the recovery operation and the aftermath.It's a deeply personal look as much at the human tragedy as the mechanical disaster itself and there's no doubt it affected many people in very different ways. But there's only so much I can read about people trudging through marshes to collect bits of shuttle, about towns-folk making cakes for the recovery teams and how difficult it was to find the various parts of Columbia. I would say that a good half of the book is as much to do with the human element as it was to do with the accident, its cause, the shuttle's breakup and the subsequent investigation. It's definitely very important because 7 good people died that day but to be honest, I was more interested in the accident , its causes and investigation than how many breakfasts got served.So a good book, worthy of reading for sure, but I found myself skipping through the more tedious chapters. Good detail but like I say, it focused more on the people involved than the shuttle itself and I was quite happy to get to the end.

This was an interesting read, covering more the details of the immediate aftermath of the accident, the debris collection and the process of putting together the pieces.It does tend to get a little 'samey' - perhaps a harsh comment, but theres only so much additional information that can be added to the premise of "it was a difficult and time consuming search".Also slightly disappointing was the coverage of the actual crash details itself - it is covered but very briefly - I appreciate the context is the human side of the recovery, but still would have been good to have had more.The book does actually reference the very good report done much later on by NASA astronauts around survivability and the ACES suits - this is available online from NASA and contains the full timeline, breakdown and technical findings of the crash itself - without being morbid.So - if interested in the specific subject of the recovery effort, worth a read - if actually interested in the technical details and causes of the crash, seek out the online report.

I use to watch every shuttle launch after starting the iss construction and landing. I was excited that Columbia had completed her mission and was coming home, because the next flight was an iss mission. So I was watching cnn and nearly died from shock when I realized the shuttle had broken up, coming down to land. What i didn't know until I read this book was what happened during the search and recovery of her. The amount of experts, strangers and volunteers who gave there time, there love, expertise and too many others to count. This was an amazing book that will have you reaching for the tissue box but at the same time, feel the love and dedication that everybody involved gave there all. May God bless the crew of columbia.

A very detailed account of the recovery of Columbia and its crew after it broke up on re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere on 1st February 2003. I was at the KSC just a couple on months earlier to see the previous shuttle launch. Sympathetically describes the care and love that went into completing this task by the recovery volunteers and agencies that undertook it in order the cause of the accident could be determined.I was lucky enough to be in Florida and to be present to witness the launch of Atlantis on the very last Space Shuttle mission, STS135 in July 2011. This book is a must for anybody with an interest in manned spaceflight

Really interesting take on the affair and taken from a unique and rare perspective considering the enormity of the event. The primary source who was in the midst of it is unflinchingly honest, and by being so pays tribute to every last person (anthropomorphised Columbia included) involved in not just STS-107 and the aftermath, but the Shuttle program as a whole and especially the communities who came together so utterly selflessly to Bring Columbia Home.Incredibly touching and incredibly detailed. This is part documentary, part eulogy, and part memorial.It’s a unique book and a must read for anyone looking for a deeper dive into the loss of Columbia. It’s also a rare “peak behind the curtain” reminder that whilst it may be rocket science, each and every soul involved is a human being just like all the rest of us...Congratulations on an incredibly moving and informative document. Thank you!