This New Ocean

“The most successful general survey of space history yet to appear.”–The New York Times “The most comprehensive history of humanity’s efforts to explore space ever to be crammed into a single volume.”–The Washington PostLeaving Earth for the first time was the single greatest achievement of the twentieth century. It was also an adventure of Homeric proportions. This is the story, vividly told, of how it happened. Here are American and Soviet politicians, scientists, engineers, generals, and astronauts, dueling for prestige and supremacy from within Earth’s orbit to the Sea of Tranquility to the beautiful but deadly plateaus of Venus. This New Ocean is the first full account of how the Soviet space program really worked, revealing why it was doomed to fall short of the Moon; why NASA has always been driven by public relations; how science fiction provided the blueprint for reality; what the military really has in store for space; and how the migration of humans to Mars and beyond has already begun. A Notable Book of the Year –St. Louis Post-DispatchA Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year –Library Journal“Burrows offers a complete, authoritative history of the technology that allowed us to explore space and the people who created and managed that technology… . For those who struggle to understand the nature of humanity, it offers new insights into old paradoxes. For those who ask where we are going, it offers hope.“                               –Publishers Weekly (starred review)”[An] all-encompassing and splendidly written account.”–St. Louis Post-Dispatch

William E. Burrows has reported on aviation and space for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He has had articles in The New York Times Magazine, Foreign Affairs, The Sciences, and other publications and is a contributing editor for Air & Space/Smithsonian. He is also the author of seven previous books, including Deep Black, the award-winning classic work on spying from space.

Mr. Burrows is a professor of journalism at New York University and the founder and director of its graduate Science and Environmental Reporting Program.