In this personal, take-no-prisoners account, Lori Garver pulls back the curtain on the new space race, where political science joins rocket science to create today's critical mass. Buckle up for a revealing and fascinating ride! —Lynn Sherr, author, SALLY RIDE: America's First Woman in Space.

The recent progress of commercial space travel is the result of decades of work by many determined individuals and organizations. Lori's compelling memoir, Escaping Gravity, captures what it means to use space exploration to transform and benefit humanity right here on Earth. The book gives us a behind the scenes look at how a band of dreamers defied gravity and the status quo to launch a new space age. —Richard Branson

As much as anyone not named Elon Musk, Lori Garver has helped prod, push, and pull NASA to embrace commercial space and all of its promise. Now, as this industry has become the envy of the world, Garver tells how it was done over the last three decades. She names names, yanks skeletons from closets, and writes illuminatingly about the brilliant future ahead of us in Escaping Gravity. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica reporter and author of Liftoff, Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX

In Escaping Gravity, Lori Garver, career champion of everything space, offers a front-row seat to the decades-long struggles within and among space bureaucrats and space billionaires. From presidents to heads of agencies to astronauts to key members of congress, she knew them all and they knew her — and they did not always see eye to eye. Bring popcorn as you bear witness an untold slice of space history. —Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History

Transformative change in government is often sought, but rarely achieved. In this revealing and personal book, Garver tells the fascinating story of how she helped a band of dreamers, rogue bureaucrats, and billionaires usher in a new space age. —From the foreword by Walter Isaacson

If you're interested in the story of a pioneering woman revolutionizing the male-dominated space industry, read this book. If you're interested in the key early turning points of Elon Musk's and Richard Branson's space efforts, read this book. If you're interested in how to effect substantive change within government, industry, and the non-profit sector, read this book! Lori's life story is filled with incredible adventures and she has had a profound impact on humanity's future in space and on Earth." — George Whitesides, former CEO Virgin Galactic

Lori Garver is a self-proclaimed "space pirate," who took on NASA, the aerospace industry and even members of Congress, as part of a tumultuous groundswell that helped launch the modern commercial space industry. Told without fear or favor, her compelling tale transcends the space industry and shows us, from the inside, how Washington works—who wins, who loses and who bears the scars. —Christian Davenport Washington Post space reporter and author of The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos. 

Lori Garver is an unsung hero of a new space age.As NASA’s deputy administrator, she took on the Old Space aristocracy, made a lot of enemies, but won enough friends and battles to preserve the important dream of easier, cheaper access to space. Certainly, we would not see Elon Musk where he is now if Lori Garver hadn't been in that job, -Miles O'Brien, broadcast news journalist, PBS NewsHour, CNN, Discovery Channel

Not a week goes by without a new headline about yet another commercial space mission. NASA is now among the loudest cheerleaders. But that was not always the case. In her book "Escaping Gravity" former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver documents the long internal and external struggles that often went on behind the scenes wherein the agency slowly warmed to commercial space. She was there in the trenches pushing the agency to transform the way it did things in space. If you want to truly understand the origins of the current revolution in commercial space this book is a must-read. -Keith Cowing, editor of NASAWatch.com

During her time as Deputy Administrator, Lori Garver [was] a happy warrior for revitalization at NASA and the clear administration leader for creating and sustaining commercial green shoots in space enterprise. She [was] a loyal and effective advocate for Obama administration space policies and clearly had significant influence in administration space policy development.—Mark Albrecht, former Executive Secretary of the National Space Council

Lori made a real difference to the future of spaceflight. Most people put their career first, so they play politics and pander to the vested interests. But there are some who truly care about humanity’s future in space and will do the right thing in the face of immense opposition. We are fortunate to have several such people in NASA senior leadership and Lori was one of them…. Lori did a lot of good —Elon Musk

“We are living at the most exciting time in space exploration since the Apollo era, in part because the world’s largest space agency, NASA, got around to trying something new, the funding of commercial crews. She tells it like it is… or was for a woman effecting change at NASA despite men of the military-industrial complex—and their cost-plus contracts. It wasn’t rocket science; it was much harder than that. Don’t take my word(s) for it; read this book.—Bill Nye, CEO, The Planetary Society

Change is not easy – especially in fields that push the edges of our capabilities, come with high stakes and offer untold rewards.  But evolution demands embracing change whether in government or in the private sector.  Lori Garver’s gripping story reveals how a woman with a different background and perspective broke traditional barriers at NASA and within the space industry to beat both gravity and the status quo. —Mae Jemison, MD, NASA Astronaut (ret.)

Lori Garver's Escaping Gravity is a must read to understand the 21st century remaking of the U.S. space industry. Her clear-eyed view from inside NASA and the halls of American power reveals the why and how behind the new space age that's now underway. Lori artfully gives you personal introductions to dozens of influential people – from the billionaires who are now household names, to the politicians, officials, celebrities, entrepreneurs, executives, and more. Her story is gripping and personal, interwoven with never before told conversations, historical facts, and battles of will. She helped open the door to new space companies, which are now bringing dozens people to space each year for a fraction of the cost to government taxpayers – and pushing human exploration further into the solar system, while improving life here on Earth. —Michael Sheetz, CNBC Space Reporter

The first Space Age was shaped by men whose goal was to demonstrate feats of strength and glory. Their incredible achievements allowed the U.S. to be seen as a dominant power during the Cold War. But leadership is about more than feats of strength, and to move into the 21st century NASA needed to adapt to an environment of innovation that was changing quickly. Lori Garver was the catalyst that helped bring NASA into the new Space Age. No one has done more than Lori to stand up to parochial (and patriarchal) interests in this industry and usher in a more meaningful and sustainable space program. Escaping Gravity is an enduring story of how a woman with a different background and perspective can make a difference - and be a force to be reckoned with. —Emily Calandrelli, Award winning science communicator and Host of Xploration Outer Space, Fox, and Emily's Lab, Netflix

Escaping Gravity delivers the inside story of today's commercial spaceflight revolution. Before SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin and XPRIZE, the space industry was an old boys club, with a handful of military defense companies.  It was ultra-expensive and risk averse.  Lori Garver led the charge to topple the old-school, and engage the entrepreneurial engine we now see today.  If it weren't for Lori Garver's passion and vision we would not be on our way to the Moon and Mars today." —Peter H. Diamandis, MD, Founder/Chairman, XPRIZE and Singularity University.  Author, Abundance, BOLD and The Future is Faster Than You Think. 

How do you move a mountain? How do you change an industry with entrenched corporations making billions from and intent on keeping the status quo?  Fiercely vilified and opposed, Lori Garver remained undaunted in her quest and ultimate success in leading the transformation from bureaucracy, resistance, and risk aversion into the dynamic commercial space era we know today. Watching the transformation unfold since first working with her in the late 1990s to garner private investment in space has been rewarding even beyond my two spaceflights. Escaping Gravity is a personal and compelling story about those who recognized what widely-accessible space could mean, and the force of a team dedicated to breaking the status quo. It is among the most important stories in the history of space and offers extraordinary lessons in leadership, tenacity, and political maneuvering. —Mary Ellen Weber, NASA Astronaut (ret.)