Burrows, William E. - This New Ocean : The Story of the First Space Age

This New Ocean : The Story of the First Space Age by Burrows, William E.

Published by Random House, 1998

John Glenn's return to space is a reminder of the history of the early space program. This New Ocean is a detailed history of the early years of space exploration, from Sputnik to the Space Shuttle, with all the political intrigue and ego-filled infighting that went along with it. Because the space race was more than science, more than just another high-tech industry, the story is complicated. The space race created intrigue at the core of the U.S.-Soviet power struggle. It caused interagency feuds in the U.S. government to boil over. It won and lost elections, and it anointed both heroes and martyrs. This New Ocean chronicles the political, technical, and social evolution wrought by "the first space age."