Epic Rivalry; The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race

Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2007. Presumed first edition/first printing. Hardcover. Good/Very good. Glued binding. Paper over boards. xxvii, [1], 275, [1] p. Illustrations (many in color). Notes. Index. Illustration Credits. Crossed out words in ink on title page (perhaps a 'failed' inscription by the author Eisman due to a misspelled name? This copy acquired from Gene Eisman personally.) DJ has slight wear and soiling. Red dot at the bottom edge. The extraordinary saga that gripped the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War—galvanized by the Sputnik launch in 1957, and culminated by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon in 1969—is chronicled in this uniquely balanced history. With a foreword written by the grandson of Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, Sergei Khrushchev, this lively and compelling account offers behind-the-scenes perspective from both sides. Written by Smithsonian curator Von Hardesty and researcher Gene Eisman, Epic Rivalry tells the story from the American and Russian points f view and shows how each space-faring nation played a vital role in stimulating the work of the other. Scores of rare and powerful photographs recall the urgency, technical creativity, tense drama, and "parallel universes" of the two nations and their space exploration programs. From an on-line posting: "Von Hardesty is currently a curator in the Division of Aeronautics at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. He has written a number of books, and lives in the metropolitan D.C. area." Foreword by Sergei Khrushchev. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon in 1969-the first humans to visit another celestial body. This extraordinary lunar odyssey grew out of the rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War. To mark the 50th anniversary of Sputnik in 2007 and the 50th anniversary of the founding of NASA in October 2008, this epic moment is recaptured with a lively and compelling new account and rare archival photographs, narrating the story from both the American and the Russian perspectives and showing how each space-faring nation played a vital role in stimulating the work of the other. The authors recreate in vivid detail the "parallel universes" of the American and Soviet space exploration programs, with visionaries Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev and political leaders John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev at the epicenter of their story. This book chronicles the story of the epic race to the Moon and back as you've never heard it before.