I’d picked up the book “Space” by Michener at my local second hand book store, over on Markham Rd:
Google says the store is called “Alfsen House Books“, but I don’t remember ever seeing a sign.
I’m pretty sure I’ve read a few Michener books over the years, including (I think) Mexico, the Covenant, and the Source. Of these, “the Source” I remember most. All of these I probably read it in my late teens, which was way too long ago, so I have only vague recollections of them, but I definitely found all of them amazing at the time of reading. When I grabbed Space at the bookstore, using up whatever credit I had from bringing in books, I didn’t remember having read it.
However, with each page I read, it was like deja-vu. This was a book I’d definitely read, and hard to believe that I’d forgotten doing so. Michener books, if you haven’t read any, are all elaborately constructed histories, full of amazing backstory, and the interleaved lives of the characters that make up the stories. This particular book interleaves the stories of rocket engineers, test pilots, politicians, and their families, as well as the history of the US space program. It was really fun, ~25 years later, to read it a second time. This story covers older aspects of the space program (even compared to when I read it), but it has aged really well.
Years from now, if I see another copy of this book (my current copy is pretty mangled now as I read large chunks of it in the hot tub), hopefully I’ll remember having read twice before, and opt for something new instead.