Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Moon Base (1959)


Number two in the series: Moon Base. Just saying the phrase "moon base" brings me a sense of excitement and nostalgia. In fact one of my treasures is my talking Dr. Evil Doll that says "Welcome to my moon base".



Nephew, William and Chester, Michael. Illustrated by Buehr, Walter. Moon Base. New York : GP Putnam's Sons. (72 p.) 23 cm.

And what a moon base it is. Building on the 1st book this one discusses a permanent settlement on the Moon. Many full page and double-page illustrations of rockets, Moon vehicles, and Moon base. Number 2 in Nephew and Chester’s space quartet.


This winged ship still looks impractical to me. However I like the "under construction" aspect where repairs are made as needed. Ladders on the Moon! How much does it cost to get a ladder to the Moon and given that you want to make it out of light strong material, will it be alumium or something more exotic (inquiring minds want to know).


Here is a lunar construction site, complete with 2 people who just stand around and watch :)






But we are not stopping at the Moon, in a couple of days it is a trip to the planets!

3 comments:

  1. Well, I know where I want to live...

    Love this artwork. Simple, but powerful. Really revs up the imagination.

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  2. Never mind the ladder -- how much did it cost to get those useless wings to the Moon?

    -- Michael S.

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    Replies
    1. The wings are leftover from the launch; in the first book the authors imagine a ramjet takeoff using a booster plane. When the ramjet hit the required altitude, they would separate and the rocket would go to the Moon.

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