the Heavens and the Earth

Exhaustively researched, brilliantly conceived, and beautifully written. New York Times Book Review A lucid and comprehensive political history of the American, European, and Russian space programs. New Scientist Once every decade or so, a book comes along that stands by itself as a remarkable contribution to the literature of a field. Such a work is Walter A. McDougall’s … the Heavens and the Earth. Technology and Culture [A] boldly conceived, elegantly written, and unfailingly provocative history of the new age of space. Science This highly acclaimed study approaches the space race as a problem in comparative public policy. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific [An] immensely readable and elegant book. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Walter A. McDougall is Alloy-Ansin Professor of International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania, and editor of Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs. He is also author of France’s Rhineland Diplomacy, 1914-1942: The Last Bid for a Balance of Power in Europe.