The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age

by Walter A. Mcdougall

Release Date: October, 1997

Edition: Paperback

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A Pulitzer Prize-winning Explanation of the Space Race

Although there were notable forerunners, spaceflight historiography came of age with the 1985 publication this book by Walter McDougall. It received Pulitzer Prize and a host of other well-deserved awards with its analysis of the origins and conduct of the space race. This book explores the Cold War rivalry in race with the preparations for and launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, through the race to the Moon in the 1960s. The author argues that the mandate to complete Apollo on Kennedy's schedule prompted the space program to become identified almost exclusively with high-profile, expensive, human spaceflight projects. This was because Apollo became a race against the Soviet Union for recognition as the world leader in science and technology and by extension in other fields as well.

McDougall juxtaposes the American effort of Apollo with the Soviet space program and the dreams of such designers as Sergei P. Korolev to land a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. The author recognizes Apollo as a significant engineering achievement but concludes that it was also enormously costly both in terms of resources and the direction to be taken in state support of science and technology. In the end, NASA had to stress engineering over science, competition over cooperation, civilian over military management, and international prestige over practical applications. Not all agree with McDougall's arguments, but since the publication of "the Heavens and the Earth..." historians have been striving to equal its scintillating analysis, stellar writing, and scope of discussion.

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I`ll have to congratulate Mr McDougall with an excellent effort in capturing the essence cold war from the point of view of the space programs of the superpowers. It is somewhat difficult for me to review a book that I regard so much as this one, so please forgive me when I only give my unconditional praise to the book in question.

However, I got the inspiration for my nick from this book.