Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
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Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
John D. Clark
6 people recommended it in 4 threads, 2015–2025.
What people on Hacker News said
Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants - A history of things that go boom. Engaging writing and I learned things about chemistry.
It has great detail on the actual rocket fuel chemistry, alongside incredibly well-told stories and anecdotes.
Very interesting even if, like me, you only have a simple understanding of chemistry. There are some hair-raising (or hair razing) anecdotes.
Ignition breaks down the fallacy that huge innovations come from large professional teams. It demonstrates that getting the right mix of risk tolerance in your team is a large part of innovation.
Oh man. I remember laughing out loud at “It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers” and then hooting at the end of that paragraph.
Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants - is a pretty great read, full of (literally) explosive twists.
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things 2025 · 3 recommendations
- Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022? 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer? 2019 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2015? 2015 · 1 recommendation