DISASTER STRIKES!

Twelve thrilling and terrifying space-mission failures for middle-grade readers, told by the best-selling author of APOLLO 13!

We've all heard about the amazing, daring, and exciting missions to outer space that have succeeded. But for every success, there are mistakes, surprises, and flat-out failures that happen along the way. In this collection, Jeffrey Kluger recounts twelve such disasters, telling the stories of the astronauts and the cosmonauts, the trials and the errors, the missions and the misses.

With stories of missions run by both Americans and Russians during the height of the space race, complete with photos of the people and machines behind them, this book delves into the mishaps and the tragedies, small and large, that led humankind to the moon and beyond.

Jeffrey Kluger, senior editor, oversees TIME's science and technology reporting. He has written or co-written more than 40 cover stories for the magazine and regularly contributes articles and commentary on science, behavior and health. Kluger is the co-author, with astronaut Jim Lovell, of APOLLO 13, which was the basis of the Apollo 13 movie. He is the sole author of seven other books, including THE SIBLING EFFECT and two novels for young adults. Other books include SPLENDID SOLUTION which tells the story of Jonas Salk and the polio vaccine; and the 2008 Hyperion release SIMPLEXITY: WHY SIMPLE THINGS BECOME COMPLEX (AND WHY COMPLEX THINGS CAN BE MADE SIMPLE). Before joining TIME, Kluger was a staff writer for Discover magazine and he was also an editor for the New York Times Business World Magazine, Family Circle and Science Digest. Kluger, who is also an attorney, has taught science journalism at New York University.