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Cargando... Chasing the Moon: The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched America into the Space Agepor Robert Stone, Alan Andres
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. This book, a companion piece to the PBS "American Experience" film of the same name, expands on the televised program as it tells the stories of visionaries using both eyewitness accounts and newly-discovered archival material. In investigating those who inspired President Kennedy’s 1961 pronouncement of landing a man on the moon before the close of the decade, “Chasing the Moon” looks not only at the work of scientists and engineers but also at the dreams of science fiction writers and filmmakers. Exploring the stories of creative thinkers such as science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, astronaut Frank Borman, and Poppy Northcutt provides readers with a new perspective on the lunar landing. Photographs accompany the narrative; a special full-color selection of photographs is also included. Readers interested in the development of space exploration and NASA’s lunar missions will find much to appreciate here. Highly recommended. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
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"A companion to PBS's American Experience draws on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material to chronicle the stories of the visionaries who helped America win the space race with the first lunar landing"--Publisher."A charismatic young president issued the historic Moon landing challenge. This book, which greatly expands the companion PBS series, tell the stories of the visionaries--based on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material--who helped America win the space race with the first lunar landing fifty years ago. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy proposed the nation spend twenty billion dollars to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade. Based on eyewitness accounts and newly discovered archival material, Chasing the Moon reveals for the first time the unknown stories of the fascinating individuals whose imaginative work across several decades culminated in America's momentous achievement. More than a story of engineers and astronauts, the moon landing--now celebrating its fiftieth anniversary--grew out of the dreams of science fiction writers, filmmakers, military geniuses, and rule-breaking scientists. They include: " Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, whose writing inspired some of the key players in the Moon race. A scientific paper he wrote in his twenties led to the U.S. beating Russia in one area of space: communications satellites. " Wernher von Braun, the former Nazi military genius who oversaw Hitler's rocket weapons program. After working on ballistic missiles for the U.S. Army, he was recruited by NASA to manage the creation of the Saturn V moon rocket. " Astronaut Frank Borman, commander of the first mission to circumnavigate the Moon, whose powerful testimony before Congress in 1967 decisively saved the U.S. lunar program from being cancelled. " Poppy Northcutt, a young mathematician who was the first woman to work in Mission Control. Her media exposure as a unique presence in this all-male world allowed her the freedom to stand up for equal rights for women and minorities. " Edward Dwight, an African American astronaut candidate, recruited at the urging of the Kennedy White House to further the administration's civil rights agenda--but not everyone welcomed his inclusion. Setting these key players in the political, social, and cultural climate of the time, and including captivating photographs throughout, Chasing the Moon focuses on the science and the history, but most important, the extraordinary individuals behind what was undoubtedly the greatest human achievement of the twentieth century."--Dust jacket. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)629.454Technology Engineering and allied operations Other Branches Astronauts and Space Travel Manned space flightClasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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Chasing the Moon: The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched America Into the Space Age by Robert Stone and Alan Andres a non-fiction book looking back at the thinkers, dreamers, and futurists that help envision American’s space program. This book is a companion book to the PBS’ American Experience.
I have not seen PBS’ American Experience and did not realize this was a companion book until well into it. At first reading Chasing the Moon: The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched America Into the Space Age by Robert Stone and Alan Andres seemed somewhat strange because it wasn’t set up like the usual “space program” book, but it held my attention and I kept on reading.
The book follows the lives and careers of Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction writer and author of a scientific paper on communications satellites. Famous scientist and rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun, as well as the commander of Apollo 8, Frank Borman, who together with his crew of James Lovell and William Anders were the first humans to leave low Earth orbit and orbit the Moon. The last two personalities the book follows are those of mathematician Poppy Northcutt, the first woman to work in Mission Control and equal rights fighter, and Edward Dwight, the first African American candidate.
The book mainly fills in the blanks in the non-technical side of the moon landing, the political environment which fostered at the time, as well as how leaders at high levels encouraged or derailed the program based on their own goals and/or selfish reasons.
The authors, like many other books, drives in the point that the flight of Apollo 11 did not happen in a vacuum. There were many people, known and unknown that contributed to this public/private enterprise.
This book is just an overview, albeit a very good one, of the American space program, and hence a great introduction to it. Even though I read several books about the subject, I always learn something new, whether a tidbit or a better understanding of a complicated (to me) subject. ( )