Out There: The In-Depth Story of the Astronaut Love Triangle Case That Shocked America

Fanning has proven she can rise to the challenge when a true crime story steps out of the typical genre scenario. This book is compelling and thoughtful. It makes sense out of Nowak's rise to greatness and descent to a punch line. In this case, I really doubt there will ever be a trial. It looks tailor-made for a plea bargain. And Fanning obviously didn't need a trial to write a remarkable story about an accomplished woman and the crime that brought her down.

Texas resident, Diane Fanning, has written a surprisingly good true crime book that could have been written too quickly or without much thought. Since Diane lives in Texas, she has a better advantage and knows her subject. She provides a good background on the NASA industry. She also writes about recent crimes like Andrea Yates murdering her five children (her husband worked at NASA) and Clara Harris (who killed her husband by driving over him after finding him with his mistress) were also from the neighborhood. Lisa Caputo Nowak had lived her life's dream of going to space. She married Rich Nowak and had their three children. She fell in love with another astronaut and had an extramarital affair. When that relationship ended to her dismay, Lisa did the unthinkable. She drove from Texas to Florida to confront Colleen Shipman, the woman who stole her lover away from her. Fortunately she is alive and well but scarred psychologically by her unwelcome confrontation with Lisa. Fanning writes about Challenger and Columbia disasters with clarity. She also writes about the NASA family and how hard it is to become a female astronaut. For the diaper jokes which I still don't get, Lisa becomes a tragic figure of a woman who was so in love that she risked her career and reputation as an intelligent, hard-working astronaut for the sake of love. Yes, this book is not normally the true crime but it's still a sad reminder of how brilliant people like Lisa Nowak can lose their minds even for a brief moment. Fanning also writes that the NASA and the space program might end it's man-filled missions in 2010 but I hope not because becoming an astronaut is something rare and wonderful. there are people who were on Challenger and Columbia who died for it.