WRITING ABOUT THE RIGHT STUFF
23 Dec 2016
It is a curious anomaly that the most prolific writer of books these days on the history of American space exploration does not come from the United States, but resides in Australia. Not only that, but Colin Burgess is a member and Past President of our Kareela Combined Probus Club.
Pictured: Sitting down with the first woman in space: cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova
Colin was born in 1947, and his boyhood curiosity about space was first aroused by his grandmother, who loved history. During a stay at her home in late 1961, she suggested he follow the much-delayed Mercury flight of astronaut John Glenn, and set him up with a scrap book, a pair of scissors and a glue pot. Together they would cut out articles on Glenn’s flight from newspapers and magazines which he would paste into his scrap book. “Which I still have,” he proudly states.
Pictured: Colin signing books alongside famed Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter
From that time on he was hooked, and not only began to compile information on subsequent space flights, but even dared to write to the astronauts in Houston.
“I couldn’t believe it when the first reply came a few months later,” he recalled. “It was from astronaut Gus Grissom, and was the first of many that flowed into our letter box. If I hadn’t been inspired before to continue my new hobby, then this truly kick-started me into what became a lifelong fascination with the subject.”
Back in those early days, Colin thought he would never get to meet a real-life astronaut, and yet today he is a trusted friend to many of them.
“My first ‘astronaut encounter’ came in the late 1980s when I was involved in working with science students through the Australian International Space School, along with Dr. Paul Scully-Power, the first Australian-born person in space. By this time, I’d had several books published on a parallel interest – the Australian POW experience – and I suggested to Paul that we should collaborate on a book on his life and space flight. That idea became a reality with the book, Oceans to Orbit.”
The next book came about through correspondence Colin had maintained with Grace Corrigan, the mother of Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died in the space shuttle Challenger tragedy in January 1986. She had asked him if he would write a book for younger people on the life of her daughter, so he and his wife Pat travelled over to Massachusetts and stayed several days with Grace while he gathered information for the book. This was later published as Teacher in Space: Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger Legacy.
“The book was published by the University of Nebraska Press,” Colin said, “and all of the proceeds were signed over to the Challenger Education Fund in Christa’s name.”
The publishers were so pleased with the book, they asked Colin if he had any more books about space exploration he could put together for them. He did, and in 2003 they published Fallen Astronauts, a book about the American and Russian space explorers who had died prior to the moon landings.
“This book was a tribute to the men who died – mostly in aircraft accidents or on the launch pad – before they could realise their dreams of flying in space, and I received some wonderful cooperation, not only from their family members, but several of their astronaut colleagues, including men who had walked on the Moon. Even Neil Armstrong sent me a few words.”
The University Press then offered Colin a totally unexpected role, which he said was about to change his life forever. “They asked me if I would be interested in becoming their Series Editor and sometimes author for a set of eight books detailing the human history of space exploration. To say I was surprised would be a gross understatement, especially as I had never professionally studied the art of writing or – especially – editing. But I thought I would give it a shot, and said yes.”
The results astounded everyone when the first two books, co-authored by Colin and his friend of many years, Francis French, proved extremely popular in the United States. His challenge now was to find authors for the subsequent books.
As he explains, “I wanted to find a whole new cadre of authors for these books, as well as come up with the ideas for each volume. I advertised on different space forums, and soon the responses came in. I would ask for their writing background – which was mostly articles on space subjects for different magazines and such – as well as an example of their work.
“It’s now been some 13 years since the series kicked off, and it has proved to be a great success. The series, once of eight books, now stands at 19, with progressively more to come. And I take great pride in the fact that I have unleashed a whole new generation of spaceflight authors in the process.”
Pictured: Chatting with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin
Altogether, Colin has had 33 of his own books published, and has just completed for Springer Books in New York a series of books on each of the six manned Mercury missions in the 1960s – his favourite period. He regularly attends space shows in the United States and has befriended many of the astronauts whose exploits he used to follow with excitement as a teenager on his little transistor radio.
Pictured: Australian Probian and spaceflight author, Colin Burgess
When asked where he gets his ideas for his books, Colin is cheerfully philosophical. “I am often asked where the inspiration for a new book comes from; particularly in the field of space exploration, which is overflowing with biographies, autobiographies, technical and general books on just about every conceivable aspect of the subject.
“As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (better known as Confucius) once wrote: ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,’ and the same applies to a book; it is usually sparked by a conversation or a suggestion made by a friend or space colleague. The only trick is in recognising and acting on that suggestion.”
Pictured: Discussing one of his books with Apollo 13 legend, Jim Lovell
Colin has been an active member of our Probus club over many years, including a term as Club President, and has delivered his talk on the early days of human space exploration to a number of other Probus clubs and other organisations within the local area.
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