Review: How Do You Burp in Space?: And Other Tips Every Space Tourist Needs to Know

How Do You Burp in Space?: And Other Tips Every Space Tourist Needs to Know by Susan E. Goodman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This reboot of the familiar 'what is it like in space' book distinguishes itself by adding material about the new commercial space flight programs, which makes the 'tourist' point of view more viable. The bulk of the book covers already-known territory, recounting in guide-book format how things like eating, going to the bathroom, and sleeping work for astronauts. Without the material on the new commercial flights, this would be mostly a recycling of information from shuttle- and Apollo-era books on the same topic. The nice thing is that in previous books, the guide-book format only worked if you accepted the idea that you might one day become an astronaut (odds?), but now the idea is that it's only a matter of time and scale to figure out how more people will get this experience.

In the end, I wished this book had been more speculative about the future of space travel for everyday people instead of revisiting just the familiar topics. The ideas of moon resorts and suborbital microgravity experiences is so fun to think about, but still seems so far away and unrealistic. I would have liked to read more on that future.

The cartoon illustrations correspond to the text, and often are drawn over photographs from past space missions to illustrate a point. There is no narrative thread to the illustrated storyboard. Each illustration is a topical stand-alone.



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