A Journal For Christa; Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space

Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. First Bison Books printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Very good. R, W, Boeche (Cover design). xiv, 191, [3] pages. Illustrations. Inscribed and dated by author on fep. The author was the mother of Christa McAuliffe, who died in the space shuttle Challenger accident on January 28, 1986. Following the Challenger tragedy, for many years Grace carried on Christa's message of the importance of education, traveling throughout the country as the keynote speaker at Challenger Centers, Space Camps, and elementary and high schools - many bearing Christa's name. Christa's message was also shared through the book, A Journal for Christa, authored by Grace. The author died in November, 2018 at the age of 94. Derived from a Kirkus review: A biography of the high-school social-studies teacher who died in the Challenger space shuttle explosion, written by her mother. Corrigan remembers her daughter's preflight fears and her husband's postdisaster fury. This is an affectionate memoir in which Corrigan recalls her daughter as ``the girl next door'' who ``never sat back and just existed'' but instead became a national hero through pluck and hard work. She led an ordinary life--until she beat out 11,500 other applicants to become the Teacher in Space, and proved to be an outstanding spokeswoman for education, equally at ease with Johnny Carson and Ronald Reagan. Rigorous training ensued--and then the debacle. Corrigan winds up with postexplosion events: memorial services; tributes; establishment of the Christa McAuliffe Institute for Educational Pioneering (to promote better teaching) and the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium.