Space Stories: Oral Histories from the Pioneers of America's Space Program

by Robbie Davis-Floyd, Kenneth J. Cox, Frank White

Official histories often make it appear as if nations make enormous decisions based on thorough research and understanding, after formal deliberations among “very important people” at the top of the heap. NASA’s official early history has been told in countless institutional papers, reports, histories, and books. But a number of personal memoirs and histories have yet to become a part of the public record. When the individuals intimately involved in these momentous decisions are given voice, they tell a different story—one of hops and skips, of intellectual influence rather than personal authority, of personality clashes and chats among colleagues and friends, and of bootlegged designs that sometimes lead to billion-dollar programs. So it was with the birth of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This book tells a part of this important and fascinating story.

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 2012