HARDESTY, VON and GENE EISMAN. Forward by SERGEI KHRUSHCHEV. Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race, National Geographic Books: Washington, 2007. $20.00 hardcover. 288 pp. 120 color and black & white photos. ISBN-13: 978-1426201196. Epic Rivalry at Amazon.com
Phaeton Director David West Reynolds contributed five essays for a new history of the race to the Moon: Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race, published by National Geographic Books on September 18, 2007. The book was written by Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum curator Von Hardesty and his collaborator Gene Eisman. Dr. Hardesty, a Phaeton friend and colleague, is a specialist in Russian aviation history, and therefore particularly well-suited to offer a balanced account of the space race, in which the American and Soviet efforts are both weighted appropriately.
Von Hardesty wrote the Introduction to Reynolds' book Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon. Reynolds says he was honored to return the favor by contributing to Hardesty's latest history. Reynolds' chapter-end sidebars treat the technical matters of rocketry and space exploration--such as the mechanics of attaining orbit--in essays that render the complex engineering and physics into clear and engaging explanations. Reynolds says he was particularly pleased to hear that his metaphorical description of the process of re-entry was praised by no less an authority than Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot for Neil Armstrong's 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing mission.
Book Description
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon in 1969, they personified an almost unimaginable feat--the incredibly complex task of sending humans safely to another celestial body. This extraordinary odyssey, which grew from the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, was galvanized by the Sputnik launch in 1957. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Sputnik, Epic Rivalry recaptures this gripping moment in the human experience with a lively and compelling new account. The book tells the story from both the American and the Russian points of view, and shows how each space-faring nation played a vital role in stimulating the work of the other. Scores of rare, unpublished, and powerful photographs recall the urgency and technical creativity of both nations' efforts.
The authors recreate in vivid detail the "parallel universes" of the two space exploration programs, with visionaries Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev and political leaders John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev at the epicenters. The conflict between countries, and the tense drama of their independent progress, unfolds in vivid prose. Approaching its subject from a uniquely balanced perspective, this important new narrative chronicles the epic race to the moon and back as it has never been told before.
Review
"Epic Rivalry is a stunning new book on the space race. Erudite yet entertaining, it clearly analyzes the events leading to the first lunar landing, as seen through American and Soviet eyes. It makes fascinating reading today and merits a spot on the bookshelf as a valuable reference."
--Michael Collins, Apollo 11 command-module pilotand author of Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys
Press Release
National Geographic full press release for Epic Rivalry
