Hobby rocketeers -- The rocket loophole -- The turning tide of war -- Escape and surrender -- Nazi rockets in New Mexico -- Rockets meet airplanes -- A new war, a new missile, and a new leader -- Higher and faster -- Edging into hypersonics -- The floating astronaut -- Space becomes an option -- The first satellite race -- Little Ball's big impact -- The fight to control space -- Epilogue : America finds its footing in space -- Glossary of people -- Glossary of places and organizations.
Summary
Looks at the early history of western space flight up to the establishment of NASA by Dwight D. Eisenhower, covering the decades of research in rocketry, aeronautics, and human tolerances that laid the groundwork for the advances that succeeded it.
