My 36 Years in Space is a behind-the-scenes view of the exciting career of a pioneer in NASA's manned space programs. It describes the breakthroughs of a young engineer in writing flight software to guide astronauts to the moon, his heart-pounding experience in watching the Apollo 11 launch at the Cape, and his breathtaking moments in NASA's Mission Control Center while Armstrong and Aldrin dealt with computer alarms when they descended to the moon for the first time. His fun-filled relationships with his astronaut neighbors are unique. Kurth's firsthand account of his successful rise to General Manager of the Aerospace Systems Group in the Shuttle and Space Station era contrasts with his sudden fall to the unemployed at age 52. The reader experiences his struggle through the aerospace recession, before pulling himself back up with achievements in the USAF spy satellite programs prior to his retirement with TRW in 1999.Professional Review by Online Bool Club:10 … 9 ... 8 ... Engine Ignition! 7 ... ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... We have liftoff!This countdown would launch Apollo 11 toward a mission the media called "the greatest accomplishment of the decade." On July 20, 1969, man first stepped on the Moon, a historical event watched around the world. Through the lens of Kurth Krause's space engineering career, readers come to know how events unfolded during one of the most dangerous space missions ever attempted, as highlighted in My 36 Years in Space: An Astronautical Engineer's Journey through the Triumphs and Tragedies of America's Space Programs. A team of masterminds managed to land two astronauts on the Moon's surface. But would they be able to bring them back safely?Launching a rocket into space is a complex process, but it is not as complicated as guiding it back to Earth from another celestial body in our solar system, such as the Moon. As a young engineer, Kurth Krause is tasked to develop an onboard program to be used on the Command Module (CM) and the Lunar Module (LM) to facilitate a return-to-earth mission during the Apollo Era. It all begins in a rather technologically primitive period when computer science, missile engineering curricula, and space science were still limited. Krause highlights some of the challenges and space achievements that America went through at a time when the space race was a determinant for global dominance and supremacy. In addition, the writer gives a glimpse into his personal family life and how he balanced this with his highly demanding work....in the end, a feeling of absolute marvel took over me. It was impressive.Krause thoroughly describes the difficult mission and the amazing triumph of Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and the entire space crew. I imagined how glorious this event must have been — especially viewing it live in 1969. I thought of Neil Armstrong's first words while stepping down on lunar soil: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."I encountered no grammatical errors, and the well-edited book allowed for easy reading. The absence of expletives was no surprise for a book of this class. The author also made good use of pictures, which made it easier for me to grasp the scientific concepts being described. My 36 Years in Space, by Kurth Krause, deeply deserves a 4 out of 4 stars rating to the moon and back.