Most books about space flight focus on the drama surrounding the mission - astronauts, mission control, robot malfunctions, operational crises, etc. This book is different. The space mission described in this book had not launched, or even been built, at the date of publication.

This book is about what happens before a launch. How does a space mission get defined and then selected for development? This book follows the 20+ years of scientific ideas, political machinations both inside the space industry and in Congress, and the twists and turns of NASA administrations to get a robotic space mission to Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. What we see are the personalities involved, their often petty rivalries and personal priorities, and the hugely cumbersome and inefficient bureaucracy that surrounds the NASA behemoth.

The story is unedifying, but not a great surprise. Scientists want to do the science that they want to do and narrow their focus to the exclusion of pretty much everyone and everything else. Administrators and bureaucrats want to either follow or beat the system and don’t think too much about how that impacts the ideas they are working with. Politicians only think about what is a win today and let’s not worry about tomorrow - a problem if you are developing a multi-year project and mission.

Written in that uniquely American gonzo style, this book is by turns an appalling indictment of how stuff gets done in modern society and absolutely hilarious. If you ever wonder why you should never find out how sausages are actually made, this is the book for you.

Highly recommended as an antidote to all those portentous space documentaries. ( )

There's good information about the subject at hand, and a great story in this book, nearly buried alive under hyperventilating prose, and a series of life story flashbacks for every major character that run for pages, interrupt the story, and all but overwhelm the reader. If you're truly interested in the minutia of everyone's life, and care what their first telescope was made of, what 50s sci-fi movie had an influence on them (he spends three pages discussing it), or how much they loved working at McDonald's, perhaps this won't bother you. I became absolutely exasperated with trying to pursue a story of scientific exploration and constantly being suddenly shifted decades back in time to yet another bio that went on and on and on until I forgot where in the story I as supposed to be. This book is almost 500 pages long, and I swear half of it is this kind of bloviating background noise. The final chapter illustrates that the author is indeed capable of telling a good story, but by then it is more of a relief than anything. In retrospect, the title on the cover should have been a clue--it's a paragraph long. ( )

An exciting story about NASA bureaucrats giving Powerpoint presentations to boost their budgets. Actually, I wouldn't mind hearing that funding story. Brown avoids most of it. There is no gossip here, no inside dirt. Everybody is a genius (in Brown's effusive prose, any college graduate is basically a PhD, with the brain of Einstein), and even utter boondoggles like the SLS are somehow worthy of support. Rivalries hardly exist. A racist, anti-science Republican representative is a dedicated American hero. (Brown avoids almost all space science.)

For a good story about NASA funding, rivalries, and more, I'd recommend Alan Stern and David Grinspoon's "Chasing New Horizons." ( )

This is a highly accessible and compelling narrative history of the long journey that will culminate in the Europa Clipper mission, launching in the mid 2020s. This Jovian moon offers the best known chance that we Earthlings have of finding life in our own solar system. Europa almost certainly has a salt sea under its surface ice crust, and almost certainly has the essential ingredients for life to evolve.

Brown takes the reader on a deep dive through the adoption and on-going development of the mission. The interplay of the elements: the science, the institutions, the incredible people, the FUNDING, FUNDING, FUNDING, and, of course, the existential awe inspiring, frightening, and dangerous phenomenon of outer space itself, all are interwoven into a narrative that flows like a novel.

Many of the people involved in the space program are truly unforgettable, and Brown's prose elicits the respect and sometimes reverence these dedicated and dogged scientists deserve. One element I found particularly interesting, and also amusing at times, was the love affair with Mars of some players and the public, which frustrated the Europa supporters, who believe the icy moon more rewarding to explore.

The writing is lovely and clear, and one doesn't have to bring any particular knowledge of the space program to the book to enjoy it as an exciting and uplifting story.

The contrast between the meticulous detailed work and the awe and wonder of the actual goal, Europa, will leave a lasting impression.

Highly recommended popular science. ( )