Ignition!
by John D. Clark · first published 1972
65% recommend35% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Humorous, readable first-hand history of liquid rocket propellants, full of cautionary tales about nasty chemicals and the trial-and-error of fuel development; enjoyable even for readers without a chemistry background.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
John D Clark’s seminal and widely regarded 1972 book chronicling the history of rocket fuel written in his signature tongue in cheek and comedic style, turning a very dry subject into something enjoyable for anyone
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants
Recommended by 40 · mentioned by 4640 recommend · 46 mention40 recommend · 4640 recommend
2015–2023A Tall Tail: A Tor.Com Original
Charles Stross
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 106 recommend · 10 mention6 recommend · 106 recommend
2011–2026Fermat's Last Theorem
Simon Singh
Recommended by 19 · mentioned by 2719 recommend · 27 mention19 recommend · 2719 recommend
2018–2026Sunburst and Luminary
Don Eyles
Recommended by 19 · mentioned by 2419 recommend · 24 mention19 recommend · 2419 recommend
2013–2026Command and Control
Eric Schlosser
Recommended by 100 · mentioned by 135100 recommend · 135 mention100 recommend · 135100 recommend
2008–2026Barbarians at the gate
Bryan Burrough, John Helyar
Recommended by 49 · mentioned by 7949 recommend · 79 mention49 recommend · 7949 recommend
2007–2026A short history of nearly everything
Bill Bryson
Recommended by 102 · mentioned by 123102 recommend · 123 mention102 recommend · 123102 recommend
2007–2026The Code Book
Simon Singh
Recommended by 98 · mentioned by 12198 recommend · 121 mention98 recommend · 12198 recommend
The book Ignition!, mentioned in the article/comments, is soon back to print[0]. After reading these articles I think the book is a must read. Too bad the Kindle version is quite bad quality. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Ignition-Informal-History-Liquid-Prop...
on “Hydrofluoric Acid: An Invisible Fire (1996)” ↗Kind of reminds me of when I picked up a copy of Ignition! (https://www.amazon.com/Ignition-informal-history-liquid-prop...) at a used bookstore for $5. I definitely got my money's worth out of the read, and I was quite surprised years later when I heard it…
on “Invest in books” ↗…building rockets back in the day. It's a gread read, and full of useful practical chemical engineering advice and cautionary tales. You might find PDFs, but you can also buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Ignition-Informal-Propellants-Univers...
on “A DIY Cruise Missile (2004)” ↗…https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2323178.How_Apollo_Flew_... Finally, not strictly related to the space race, but for some truly wonderful first-hand tales from the development of rocket propellants, you can't beat John D. Clark's Ignition!: https://www.amazon.com/Ignition-Informal-Propellants-Univers...
on “Debugging a Live Saturn V” ↗I've always loved Ignition![0] for the perspective it gives on working with the chemistry of this stuff. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Ignition-Informal-Propellants-Univers...
on “SpaceX SN9 Explodes on Landing” ↗…industry. Regarding books: - I really enjoyed Lift-Off by Eric Berger on the early days of SpaceX. - Shoot for the Moon is another good read on the Apollo program. - The Case for Space by Robert Zubrin - Ignition by John D. Clark for a history of liquid rocket propellants Godspeed (Edited formatting)
on “Ask HN: I want my next startup to be in space tech. Where do I start?” ↗If you've not had the pleasure, take some time this weekend to read John D Clark's amazing book Ignition! https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pd... (PDF may not render properly in Chrome)
on “Things I Won’t Work With: Peroxide Peroxides (2014)” ↗If you can find a copy, you might like the book Ignition! by John Clark (some libraries have it, and there is a scanned PDF floating around online). It is about the early development of rocket propellants (which as you might imagine covers a lot of really…
on “Things I Won’t Work With: Peroxide Peroxides (2014)” ↗I also think histories and biographies can be great for high S/N nonfiction. Good examples that I really enjoyed include "Ignition" by John D. Clark and "Excuse me sir, would you like to buy a kilo of isopropyl bromide?" by Max Gergel.
on “Ask HN: Books with a high signal to noise ratio?” ↗John Clark's "Ignition!" is back in print, as it happens. It's a personal history of liquid rocket fuel research in which there's a lot of chemistry of which I understood none, but the stories made it worth reading anyway.
on “US military's X-37B space plane lands, ending record-breaking mystery mission” ↗…Many different concentrations are used in rocket fuels, but anything over 70% is extremely dangerous, not only because it can eat flesh but also because it can spontaneously combust. I've been reading "Ignition!", a 1972 book about rocket fuels by rocket-fuel chemist John D. Clark. I got it from http://library.sciencemadness.org/library/. It is extremely entertaining, although often in train-wreck fashion.…
on “Byron Sonne’s G20 security focus cost him dearly” ↗…government-sponsored rocket lab in history". According to article, that happened in "late 1930-s", but already in 1933 in USSR rocket groups GIRD and GDL were combined into a research institute. A highly recommended "Ignition!" (http://www.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf) - a history of liquid propellant research by John Clark briefly describes genesis of JPL, mentioning Malina and Theodor von Karman. According…
on “Jack Parsons: Occultist involved in early rocketry” ↗This is where John D Clark's book "Ignition!" really shines: it's the history of the science of rocket fuel as problem solving. Plenty of candidates on paper, need to be tested for detonation, hypergolicity, ease of ignition, handling, effect on…
on “Why nuclear energy is our best option at the moment” ↗Obligatory "you may also like" reccomendation: Ignition! by John D Clark ( http://www.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf ), which is an unofficial history of rocket fuel. A mixture of hard science and lab-exploding anecdotes.
on “Things I Won’t Work With: Dioxygen Difluoride (2010)” ↗There is a fantastic book by rocket-chemist-turned-science-fiction-author John D Clark called Ignition that documents the research and discovery of liquid propellants. It's a great read - out of print, but available online as a pdf: https://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pd... I toured…
on “The hidden base that could have ended the world” ↗