Review by Choice Review
Burrows gives us an absorbing, very complete narrative of the origins and progression of the space age from antiquity to 1998. This is among the best books of its kind in explaining what happened historically and why, and who was responsible. With the end of the Cold War, space developments can finally be placed in a balanced historical context, and Burrows does it extremely well. This book is exceptionally good in describing the roles and the interplay among the National Reconnaissance Office, the US Air Force, the military and intelligence communities, NASA, and their Soviet counterparts as post-WW II tensions increased, rocketry evolved from V-2s into space vehicles and ballistic missiles, the race to the moon began and ended, and the current status of space exploration was achieved. Rarely can one find a book whose contents come alive, while doubling as a good historical reference. Very good selection of black-and-white photographs (16 p.), a splendid set of notes (20 pp.), sources (23 pp.), and index (20 pp.). Highly recommended for amateurs and professionals, students and teachers, at all levels. W. E. Howard III; Universities Space Research Association
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Science reporter Burrows, author of books on satellite reconnaissance (Deep Black, 1986) and planetary exploration (Exploring Space, 1991), widens his focus to create what is arguably the most comprehensive history of rocketry and space travel ever. He covers everything from Daedalus and Icarus to the spring 1998 communications satellite failure, and what does not appear in the text can be sought by means of the generous bibliography. Perhaps not for rank newcomers to the history of spaceflight, the book will, however, unite in fascination readers for whom it is mostly history and others for whom it evokes memories, as of the late Alan Shepard's suborbital flight. It has another signal virtue besides comprehensiveness: it is about as objective on the merits and demerits of humans in space as a mortal journalist could make it, and Burrows can be scathing in his treatment of blunders and of the bizarre military-political alliance that was the "space race." In the end, though, he is on the side of the dreamers--past, present, and future. (Reviewed October 1, 1998)0679445218Roland Green
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"The cold war was over. The great space race was over. And the first space age was over, too." With these simple sentences, written in the past tense, Burrows (Deep Black; Exploring Space, etc.), director of NYU's Science and Environmental Reporting Program, connects with Gen-X readers, to whom space exploration has always been part of history; with pre-baby boomers, who have seen the full unfolding of humanity's great leap outward in their lifetimes; and with everyone in between. Burrows's richly documented book tells the story of how simple earthlingsÄfallible creatures living under imperfect political systemsÄtranscended foibles, corruption, depravity and flawed machines to discover other worlds and, what is more important, their own. For the space enthusiast, Burrows offers a complete, authoritative history of the technology that allowed us to explore space and the people who created and managed that technology. For those who struggle to understand the nature of humanity, it offers new insights into old paradoxes. For those who ask where we are going, it offers hope. Although we have the potential to destroy our species and our planet, the second space age now beginning, Burrows makes clear, will be marked by our arrival and survival in other worlds. The legacy of the first space age, as expressed through his remarkable book, is the knowledge that our species is capable of both outliving our planet and destroying it. The legacy of the second will be the choices we make based on that knowledge. We are voyagers embarking on yet another "new ocean"; Burrows provides invaluable lessons to help us navigate the sea of stars. Sixteen pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Just in time for John Glenn's next flight: a history of space from an expert. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An encyclopedic history of space exploration by an insider and veteran reporter who has lost nothing in his enthusiasm and respect for what humankind has wrought. But he tells it like it is, which means constant rivalry that pitted the air force against the CIA for control of spy satellites and saw the Department Of Defense turn apoplectic with the anointing of a new civilian space agency, NASA, born in 1958. Stir into this brew the science-driven egos at Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech and the rocket boys at Huntsville who were led by the indomitable Wernher von Braun. Now add the critical ingredient: the Cold War and nuclear threat and the loss of face that came with Sputnik and Gagarin. To counter that threat and restore a nation's pride, Kennedy's promise to put a man on the moon before the end of the '60s and explore ``this new ocean'' was well-nigh inevitable. It also meant that science for science's sake would take a backseat to realpolitik and the media. Burrows chronicles the events in authoritative if often over-rich detail, but he is enough of a fine reporter to lace the narrative with juicy quotes. When Air Force Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay was told of a plan to built a rocket plane to fly into orbit, he reportedly had only one question: ``Where's the bomb bay?'' Burrows is also not one to overlook the peccadilloes of the original Right Stuff Seven (excepting Glenn). Because of the separate tracks of the manned space program versus the planetary fly-bys and the need to cover Russian as well as American activities in these areas, there is some back-tracking and redundancy in the chronologies, and there are oft-repeated sermons on the disasters of life and science under Communism. But overall, this is likely to be the bible for those tracking a unique period in Earth historythe ``first'' space age as Burrows terms it. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen) (Author tour)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
