Countdown: A History of Space Flight

by T.A.Heppenheimer (Author)

• Used

  Illustrated
  1999

  $3.25

  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

• Used

  Hardcover
  1997

  $3.25

  This text takes a historian's view of the space age and places the major achievements of the space age, such as Apollo, in the context of concurrent political and social developments. It juxtaposes the Soviet space programme versus the US programme, providing insights into the space race . It explains why the two most powerful nations in the world became embroiled in a very costly and politically charged race for space. The book shows how the vast expenditures for space development over the last four decades have left only modest achievements and put the future of NASA in question. It goes on to propose that NASA can find a valid and valuable future in the market for unmanned space craft for commercial use.