traces the remarkable history of spaceflight, from the race between the United States and the Soviet Union, to the first moon landing, to amazing discussions of future missions.
resource on the history of manned spaceflight. At the time it came out, it was the first book to include in-depth information and previously-unpublished photos of the Russian space program, including the failed lunar programs (L1 and L3), which had previously been covered up by the Soviet government. For this alone, it is an invaluable reference. Add to that excellent material on the the various American manned programs (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Shuttle) and unmanned exploration of the planets by American, Russian, European, and Japanese probes, and you have a veritable encyclopedia of space flight, full of detail and completely illustrated. The only drawback to this book is that it was printed in 1993 and (to my knowledge) a newer edition has never been produced.