I must admit, I have never read any of Jay Gallentine’s earlier books. Yet, his book, "Born to Explore: John Casani’s Grand Tour of the Solar System" is a genuinely engaging narrative, a human-interest story of John Casani, an engineer who rose through the ranks and later became one of the key players in planetary exploration at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Gallentine's writing is understandable and rich with detail, making this a fantastic read for anyone who loves the human stories behind the space race. He takes us through Casani's journey, from his accidental start in engineering to the golden age of exploration at the JPL, weaving together all the technical challenges, organizational drama, and personal sacrifices that came with pioneering this work. The narrative contains anecdotes, humor, and candid reflections from Casani and his colleagues, giving one an insider’s look at the triumphs and setbacks behind iconic missions like Voyager, Galileo, and Cassini.
What I really loved is that the focus is on the people: their eccentricities, camaraderie, and relentless, inspiring drive to solve problems that had no precedence and have never been solved before.
The author avoids heavy technical jargon; instead, he made those complex engineering and scientific concepts understandable for a general audience. The book reads more like a compelling, sometimes serious and at times humorous, story than a dry technical manual exploring the broader context of NASA's love-and-hate relationship with budget and science committees and its evolving culture, with a mixture of biographical, organizational history, and engineering case studies.
One thing that I can suggest, though, is that the author should consider including an image of John Casani’s face on the cover page of the book since the story revolves around him.
In its entirety, Born to Explore is a powerful celebration of discovery, resilience, and the true spirit of exploration. It is a story of persistence in the face of adversity; and, having finished the book, the reader will walk away with a huge appreciation for the unsung heroes who made all of those stunning space missions possible.