Countdown
A History of Space Flight
1. Edition April 1999
420 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Short Description
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 and social objectives. Countdown provides the first overview of the period that explores the achievements and failures of all sides of the space race in their full historical context.
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
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.
"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
