Rating: 
Summary: Politics, personal conflict and accidents on MIR.
Review: This book documents the middle of the MIR/NASA joint program. Lots of detail. Highly critical of NASA politics and management. The author has interviewed many of the people involved and gained access to a great many documents. The non-chronological ordering makes the reading unnecessarily difficult.The picture provided is of a joint venture that was primarily politically motivated with scientific research, and even crew, as after thoughts. It is implied that NASA learned little from the experience because they weren't watching closely. Which is too bad if true because what can be learned is the importance of attention to minute detail and extensive planning. The dramatic discription of the various accidents on MIR makes exciting reading. The view given of political manipulation in NASA's management and the bitter and acrimonious personal conflicts are disturbing (but interesting to read). The insight into political chicanery in NASA management is alarming for the space program if accurately portrayed.
Rating:
Summary: Drama, action, intrigue...
Review: It is said that truth is better than the best fiction. Bryan Burrough's "Dragonfly" proves that it's true. A blow-by-blow account of the Shuttle/Mir missions, "Dragonfly" roars along like a Tom Clancy thriller. We meet bumbling politicians, Machiavellian NASA administrators, egotistic astronauts, martyred cosmonauts, and clueless ground-support crews, American and Russian alike. Parenthetically, it's a wonderful comparison of the cultures of these space superpowers, and why International Space Station missions may have some built-in psychological risks. (Aside: considering the top-heavy committment and involvement of the United States, the "international" space station is about as "international" as an International House of Pancakes.) A must-read for anyone interested in space exploration. Especially a must-read for anyone unfortunate enough to have paid money for astronaut Jerry Linenger's book, "Off the Earth -- Surviving five perilous months aboard Mir." The reader may judge for himself the "peril" involved, especially in light of the dangers faced by Linenger's successor on Mir, astronaut Michael Foale. If anything, Burrough is perhaps too balanced and fair-minded in his prose. One suspects he had reams of material he couldn't use, as it would make the book more of a "kiss-and-tell" than it actually is. Nevertheless, some of the finest reporting about NASA (and public policy as a whole) in years.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorite space books!
Review: This is a great book, very entertaining! You'll feel like you are really there, floating around in the space station.The book goes into a lot of behind-the-scenes personality clashes between astronauts/cosmonauts. Tells the story of the Mir and International space stations.
Rating:
Summary: A piece of space history unlike any other before it
Review: Brian Burrough's DRAGONFLY covers the entire "Phase One" program to put NASA astronauts aboard the Russian space station Mir in the mid 1990s. The project was fraught with problems and near-disasters, and it is an example of how not to conduct an international space partnership, or any other project, for that matter. The book is well researched, and Burrough is not afraid to delve into the dark waters of NASA's bureaucracy to round out the story. He dug deep to interview many of the significant figures of the book, including the likes of astronaut Jerry Linenger, Phase One director Frank Culbertson, NASA administrator Dan Goldin, and NASA's Johnson Space Center director George Abbey. Almost no one comes off unsoiled, and yet the author treats each subject fairly. Burrough makes extensive use of American and Russian flight transcripts, and he takes care to document the stressful lives of Russian cosmonauts, who are severely overworked and underappreciated. The author's narrative and reconstructed dialogue are well written, and he always allows the story and the people, rather than commentaries, to propel the book. I think Burrough achieves a good balance in presenting the material, which must have been difficult given the myriad personalities and politics involved. However, I was disappointed in the choppy layout of DRAGONFLY's major sections. Burrough takes a hundred pages to outline the beginnings of Phase One and its troubles from 1992 to 1997 ... the problem is, this critical background is actually Part Two, and it appears in the middle of the book, which interrupts the tumultuous events of 1997. By that point, this section does the reader little good, because we are already up to our ears in Phase One's trials and tribulations. As I was reading, I couldn't help but ask myself repeatedly, "Why am I reading this now?" Phase One's dysfunctional operation in Russia and its harried, undersupported astronauts Shannon Lucid, Bonnie Dunbar and Norm Thagard provide an ominous prologue to later events. But Burrough's failure to present these stories at the book's outset only serves to downplay their significance while disrupting the natural line of the story, and that's a shame. Fortunately, that's the only significant criticism this book deserves from an outsider. DRAGONFLY is a landmark space history book by an author who has certainly done his legwork. Future space projects can learn a lot from Phase One's missteps, and DRAGONFLY provides a full accounting of those events. This illuminates the space business like no other account before it, and I think space history is better off because of it. (My last comment goes to the publishers at Harper Perennial: Whoever decided to display a 1965-era photo of a Gemini spacewalker on the cover of this trade paperback set in the late 1990s ought to be fired for incompetence. I might as well write a book about the Persian Gulf War and put Audie Murphy on the cover.)
Rating:
Summary: Drama, action, intrigue...
Review: It is said that truth is better than the best fiction. Bryan Burrough's "Dragonfly" proves that it's true. A blow-by-blow account of the Shuttle/Mir missions, "Dragonfly" roars along like a Tom Clancy thriller. We meet bumbling politicians, Machiavellian NASA administrators, egotistic astronauts, martyred cosmonauts, and clueless ground-support crews, American and Russian alike. Parenthetically, it's a wonderful comparison of the cultures of these space superpowers, and why International Space Station missions may have some built-in psychological risks. (Aside: considering the top-heavy committment and involvement of the United States, the "international" space station is about as "international" as an International House of Pancakes.) A must-read for anyone interested in space exploration. Especially a must-read for anyone unfortunate enough to have paid money for astronaut Jerry Linenger's book, "Off the Earth -- Surviving five perilous months aboard Mir." The reader may judge for himself the "peril" involved, especially in light of the dangers faced by Linenger's successor on Mir, astronaut Michael Foale. If anything, Burrough is perhaps too balanced and fair-minded in his prose. One suspects he had reams of material he couldn't use, as it would make the book more of a "kiss-and-tell" than it actually is. Nevertheless, some of the finest reporting about NASA (and public policy as a whole) in years.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book!
Review: Listening to this is like being there. The quality is good, the narrator is absolutely fantastic, and has a beautiful "Russian" accent, as well as a vibrant English-accented voice. It was a joy to listen to. The story is fabuluous, and well written. I agree with the other reviewer who said that Tsibliev and "Sasha" Lazutkin literally saved the station. This book is recommended reading. The contrast between Kaleri and Lazutkin and how they operate made me laugh.... The only problem with the audiobook is that it is "abridged" - it should NOT be! There are segments that leave you scratching your head and asking "And...?" For example, they mention a absolutely disastrous experience of Thagaard and Blaha - but never explain why their experiences were so bad. A quote from Blaha given (but never fully explained) was: "I will NEVER, EVER do that again!" Recently I noticed that Kaleri and Foale are due to go to the ISS, as did Frank Culbertson. Get this (audio) book! ...in unabridged format if it exists...
Rating:
Summary: Stunning !
Review: Burroghs does it again, with a dramatic and educational insight into a NASA that you have never suspected. The book transitions from the ground to the Mir station with an account that will make you feel like a member of the crew. The technical details will not bore you, they will draw you in closer. This book will be hard to put down !
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Summary: The nuts and bolts of a NASA Astronaut
Review: This book tells it like it is with little sugar coating. I found it to be highly informative and accurate. Very entertaining, much better than "Off the Planet".
Rating:
Summary: A facinating insight to Mir and Russian space procedures
Review: This book is a great insight into the Russian Space agency and realy sheds light on the proceces and people. This is a great book because in reading it you can put in context the present actions in space
Rating:
Summary: How Did They Ever Do It?
Review: Inventiveness is not dead. That, among many others, is the impression you come away with after finishing this fast-paced, adrenaline-soaked narrative. This book does more than testify to the jury-rigging abilities of the various Mir teams, however. It is also a sweeping chronicle that strips away the superhero status of Earth`s pioneers in space and replaces them with their all-too-human counterparts. Too, the question lingers - How did we ever make it to space? The selfishness and egotism of the many people in both Russian and American camps makes mankind`s successful venturing beyond the bounds of Earth seem nothing less than miraculous. More sobering yet, Is there hope for the international space program? Can we do it yet again? Is cooperation in space and in science something that depends only on the individual goodwill of the astronauts, or could it one day be reflected in an international mindset of, and dedication to, progress and cooperation? These are dark questions that stand out in sharp contrast to the colorful characters that appear one at a time, or in droves, on the stage of this narrative. From reckless, whiny Jerry Linenger to good ol`Blaine Hammond (who nobody ever listens to anyway) to macho Valery Tsibliyev and the aging Mir space station itself, this is a book that presents equally valid proposals and considerations alongside real-to-life characters. Whatever your reaction to this book, I guarantee that you`ll never be able to look up at the stars, or hear the word "NASA", again and not feel as if you have been given a grandiose, momentous insight into the future of humanity.
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