This fascinating book recounts the odyssey of sending the first mission to Pluto, most of which occurred before the the spacecraft ever left the launchpad. That Alan Stern and his team navigated the hazardous waters of NASA mission funding, fraught with political intrigue, hostile fiefdoms (interestingly, JPL is depicted as a sort of villain), and impossible cost constraints, to actually launch something is a testament to their persistence and faith in their cause. The stunning imagery and invaluable science returned by New Horizons are treasures beyond reckoning. As someone stated in the book, New Horizons is sort of the Apollo of today, its impact as profound.

Stern wrote this book with David Grinspoon, who otherwise does not figure in the book. The text is perfectly fine, but I was a bit disappointed that Stern’s voice wasn’t front and center. But that’s a minor complaint, more than made up for by the inclusion of beautiful photos from the mission. Overall, an excellent, highly readable “beginning to end” story of discovery.