Description
Book SynopsisOffers a multifaceted study of the race toward space in the first half of the twentieth century, examining how the Russian, European, and American pioneers competed against one another in the early years to acquire the fundamentals of rocket science, engineer simple rockets, and ultimately prepare the path for human spaceflight.
Trade Review"For anyone familiar with the history of spaceflight—particularly in America—this book will be immensely rewarding."—Hunter Hollins,
Quest"Highly recommended."
—Midwest Book Review"
Rockets and Revolution brings a variety of new sources and a refreshing perspective into the debates about the cultural dimensions of spaceflight."
—Slava Gerovitch,
CritCom"
Rockets and Revolution succeeds in offering a cultural history of the space age."—Paul Josephson,
American Historical Review"A remarkably rich study."—Michael K. Launer,
Slavic and East European Journal“A refreshing perspective on the universal thrust for space exploration.”—Colin Burgess, Outward Odyssey series editor and author of Liberty Bell 7: The Suborbital Mercury Flight of Virgil I. Grissom
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
List of Tables
Introduction
Part 1. The Surveillance of Outer Space and the Russian Empire
1. Envisioning the Biological Universe
2. Mystical Economies of Earth and Space
3. The Mechanics of Interplanetary Travel
Part 2. The Mastery of Time and the Bolshevik Revolution
4. Lyrical Cosmism of the Russian Revolution
5. The Pioneers and the Spaceflight Imperative
6. Rocket Spaceships as Science Fictions
7. The Origins and Ends of Life on Earth
Part 3. The Rise of Rocket Science and the Soviet Union
8. The First Foundations of Astronautics
9. A Race into the Stratosphere
10. Stalinism and the Genesis of Cosmonautics
Conclusion
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
