Synopses & Reviews
The most comprehensive account of the forces behind mankind's boldest adventure
A History of Space Flight
"By far the most significant and technically insightful account of the ventures into the space environment I have seen. . . . [Heppenheimer] concentrates unerringly on key elements, both technical and managerial, in this account of man's initial space ventures."—Lee Atwood, Former President and Chairman, North American Aviation Corporation
"A fascinating, detailed comparison of the people and programs, the triumphs and failures of the two major space-faring nations; well presented and well told."—Dale D. Myers, Former Associate Administrator for Space Flight, NASA
"A hundred years ago, a brilliant Russian schoolteacher had a vision of human beings overcoming gravity to venture beyond their home planet. Today, astronauts and cosmonauts live together in space for months on end. What happened in between is a story of phenomenal ingenuity and perseverance by some of our century's greatest engineers, scientists, and explorers. No one is better equipped to tell that wondrous tale than Tom Heppenheimer. Combining an expert grasp of technology with a historian's perspective on world events, he weaves the story of space flight through the unfolding of the twentieth century. It's all here, from the early rocket experiments of Goddard and von Braun, to the Cold War race to the moon, to the era of international cooperation in space. This truly impressive book conveys the power that has lifted humanity off the earth—not only rockets, but people who dared to reach beyond their own limits."—Andrew Chaikin, Author of A Man on the Moon: The Voyage of the Apollo Astronauts is the most comprehensive account of mankind's drive to explore outer space. Drawing on new information—including recently opened Soviet archives and declassified CIA documents—this landmark book reveals the behind-the-scenes events that shaped both the U.S. and Soviet space programs.
Acclaimed science writer and aeronautical engineer T. A. Heppenheimer traces the evolution of long-range projectiles from their violent birth early in the twentieth century to their peaceful use today. He weaves a fascinating story of vivid personalities and awesome technologies, of courage and imagination as well as pettiness, waste, and destruction. The key players in NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the CIA, the Soviet Union, and the major European powers come together against a riveting backdrop of high technology and high stakes in international politics.
Working out of wine cellars, chicken coops, and parking lots, with improvised equipment that included sauce pans and cocktail shakers, space age prophets like Robert Goddard, Hermann Oberth, and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky attracted the attention of their respective governments—who quickly saw the military potential of their work. Countdown is alive with rich portraits of pivotal figures, including the brilliant aristocrat, Wernher von Braun, father of the dreaded V-2 rocket and future head of the American space effort, and Sergei Korolev, sentenced to a Siberian prison camp under Stalin's terror, only to be released to lead the Soviet rocket program.
Heppenheimer gives an eye-opening account of the involvement of the CIA during the 1950s and 1960s, and shows that the CIA, the Air Force, and the North American Aviation Corporation were, in fact, the original architects of America's space program. He argues persuasively that the Soviet space program began as a cynical ploy by Nikita Khrushchev to convince Third World leaders that the Soviet Union was a much more technologically advanced country than it actually was, and that the tide of history was flowing East rather than West. He provides a detailed account of how Kennedy's decision to go to the moon was, in turn, an attempt to counter Khrushchev's public relations maneuvers. And he describes how, in the post-Cold War era, a new spirit of cooperation, epitomized by hybrid rockets and joint space missions, is merging the U.S. and Russian space programs into a single global enterprise.
Countdown: A History of Space Flight is historical writing at its very best: the precise and thrilling unfolding of human events on the grand scale.
Review
"A lively account of the development of space activities in the U.S. and the Soviet Union . . . as good a one-volume overview of space as exists."—
Scientific American"If you've already got loads of books on the history of space flight, great news: you can give them all to Oxfam . . . All you need now is this, the most comprehensive, up-to-date and best written history of space flight there is."—The Times (London)
"By far the most significant and technically insightful account of the ventures into the space environment I have seen."—Lee Atwood, former president and chairman, North American Aviation
"By far the best history of space flight I have ever read. It is detailed, lucidly written for the layman, and full of fascinating stories."—Adrian Berry, Daily Telegraph
Synopsis
"... a fascinating comparison of the people and programs, the triumphs and failures, of the two major space faring nations". -- Dale D. Meyers, Former Associate Administrator for Space Flight, NASA
A historical overview of the evolution and future of the space programs in the U.S., the former Soviet Union, and Europe
The race to put a man on the moon provided the perfect metaphor for scientific achievement, one that challenged and captured the public imagination. Yet-in addition to its science-fiction glamour, the space race served equally powerful political and social objectives. Moving beyond the much-documented heroism of the period, Countdown offers the first overview that explores the achievements and failures of all sides of the space race in their full historical context. T.A. Heppenheimer juxtaposes the U.S. and Soviet space programs, revealing what each knew of the other and describing dead ends each pursued in the race to get ahead.
-- Draws on previously untapped sources recently made available in Russia
-- Shows how modest the gains generated by costly space programs were and proposes viable uses of unmanned spacecraft for the future
Synopsis
T. A. Heppenheimer's acclaimed chronicle of rockets, politics, and the pioneers who dared to reach beyond humanity's limits.
"The most comprehensive, up-to-date, and best written history of space flight there is."-The Times (London)
"A lively account of the development of space activities in the U.S. and the Soviet Union . . . as good a one-volume overview of space as exists."-Scientific American.
"Countdown is by far the best history of space flight I have ever read. It is detailed, lucidly written for the layman, and full of fascinating stories.-Adrian Berry, Daily Telegraph.
"Science writer Heppenheimer's readable account provides a timely historical overview of the early visionaries, the engineers, and the geopolitical forces that placed men on the moon and created today's aerospace industry. . . . A thoughtful analysis that is highly recommended.-Library Journal.
"By far the most significant and technically insightful account of the ventures into the space environment I have seen. . . . [Heppenheimer] concentrates unerringly on key elements, both technical and managerial, in this account of man's initial space ventures."-Lee Atwood, Former president and chairman, North American Aviation Corporation.
"Like a skilled artisan, Heppenheimer weaves social, political, scientific, technological, military, and economic threads of the history of space flight into a tapestry that reveals fascinating patterns and themes."-Publishers Weekly
About the Author
T. A. HEPPENHEIMER, Ph.D., an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has written extensively on aerospace, business, and the history of technology. He is a frequent contributor to magazines such as Discover, Forbes, Nature, Omni, and American Heritage. He is the author of six previous books, Turbulent Skies (Wiley) and Colonies in Space.
Table of Contents
Wonder-Weapons and Prison Camps: Rocketry Under Stalin and Hitler.
Ingenious Yankees: The Rise of America's Rocket Industry.
Racing to Armageddon: The Superpowers Begin Their Missile Programs.
The Mid-1950s: Spacecraft, Planned and Imagined.
"The Russians Are Ahead of Us!": The Space Race Begins.
A Promise of Moonglow: Space in the Wake of Sputnik.
Afternoon in May: Kennedy Commits to the Moon.
High-Water Mark: The Manned Moon Race.
Lunar Aftermath: Space Stations and the Shuttle.
Electrons in the Void: The Unmanned Space Programs.
Space in the Eighties: The Efforts Falter.
Renewal and Outlook: Commerce and Cooperation in Space.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.