Challenger by Adam Higginbotham

I read a review of this book which described it as "exhaustively researched" which is my overwhelming reaction to this. It is the telling of a tragedy, one that was widely seen as it unfolded, and one that shaped public opinion of NASA going forward. It is in some ways a hard story to tell because we know the end before we start, so it might be tempting to weave the ending into the story of how it happened, but that is not how this author rolls. He somewhat grimly marches forward in a linear way through the story, getting better acquainted with the astronauts on that ill fated flight than we might have previously been, and even delving into some of the history of the addition of women and people of color to the astronaut program that might not have been known (I read The Six, so had in depth knowledge of that era, but it is an excellent push back on the "unqualified" moniker that is being asserted in the United States in 2025). I found myself dreading the inevitable conclusion, and read quickly to get to it rather than savoring the journey--which is true to form for me, and might not be the norm, but this was a bit of a hard read for me.