I realize I’m very late in reading this book. Billy read it last winter. The movie is already coming out. I guess I didn’t see the Knack element in this story until I saw the movie trailer. Wow. This is a book and movie for us. Dude is stranded on Mars and has to fix the radio (with Hendrix playing in the background). I’m reading the book now (appropriately, on my I-phone). I find myself thinking about the Elser-Mathes Cup.
More on the book here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(Weir_novel)
From the Wiki article:
Andy Weir, the son of a particle physicist, has a background in computer science. He began writing the book in 2009, researching related material so that it would be as realistic as possible and based on existing technology.[4] Weir studied orbital mechanics, astronomy, and the history of manned spaceflight.[6] He said he knows the exact date of each day in the book.[7]
Having been rebuffed by literary agents when trying to get prior books published, Weir decided to put the book online in serial format one chapter at a time for free at his website.[4] At the request of fans, he made an Amazon Kindle version available at 99 cents (the minimum he could set the price).[4] The Kindle edition rose to the top of Amazon’s list of best-selling science-fiction titles, where it sold 35,000 copies in three months, more than had been previously downloaded free.[4][7] This garnered the attention of publishers: Podium Publishing, an audiobook publisher, signed for the audiobook rights in January 2013. Weir sold the print rights to Crown in March 2013 for over a hundred thousand dollars.[4]
The book debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list on March 2, 2014 in the hardcover fiction category at twelfth position.[
Our book: “SolderSmoke — Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics” http://soldersmoke.com/book.htm Our coffee mugs, T-Shirts, bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/SolderSmoke Our Book Store: http://astore.amazon.com/contracross-20
Thanks for pointing out this brilliant book Bill. It would probably have passed me by if it wasn’t for your recommendation – thanks!