Review by Choice Review
Spitzmiller's two-book set provides a history of rocket science and technology and their relationship to space programs. The first volume spans the earliest vehicles to the Mercury (US) and Vostok (USSR) spacecraft into the 1960s. The second picks up with Gemini, Apollo, and the space shuttle and considers future advanced propulsion and rocket systems. Topics in the first volume include the influence of WW II on rocket science, the world's reaction to Sputnik, the case for using liquid hydrogen as a propellant, and the military presence in space. A large focus of the second volume is the race to the moon. It includes chapters on space rendezvous techniques, building the large Saturn V rocket, space stations, international cooperation in space, and deep space missions. The books include some black-and-white photographs and line diagrams, but they would have benefited from additional illustrations. Most of the material in these books has been covered many times in other treatments, but this set may be enjoyed by space enthusiasts. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. J. Z. Kiss Miami University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
