Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight before NASA

by Amy Shira Teitel

NASA's history is a familiar story, culminating with the agency successfully landing men on the moon in 1969, but its prehistory is an important and rarely told tale. America's space agency drew together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer, including Wernher von Braun, who began developing missiles for the United States Army. The engineer behind the V-2 rocket, von Braun dreamed of sending rockets into space. Ten years later his Jupiter rocket was the only one capable of launching a satellite into orbit.

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the U.S. Air Force, meanwhile, brought rocket technology into the world of manned flight. NACA test pilots like Neil Armstrong flew cutting-edge aircraft in the thin upper atmosphere while Air Force pilots rode to the fringes of space in balloons to see how humans handled radiation at high altitude. Breaking The Chains Of Gravity looks at the evolving roots of America's space program--the scientific advances, the personalities, and the rivalries between the various arms of the United States military before the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957 made getting a man in space suddenly a national imperative, leading President Dwight D. Eisenhower to create the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Genres: History, Space, Science, Nonfiction, American History, Audiobook, Astronomy

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 12, 2016

About the author

Amy Shira Teitel is an American-Canadian author, popular science writer, spaceflight historian, YouTuber, and podcaster, best known for writing the books Breaking the Chains of Gravity and Fighting for Space. She's also hosts the popular YouTube channel The Vintage Space (previously Vintage Space).

Reviews

[Rachael Thomson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few things really bothered me about this book, most notably the notion of culpability. Ms. Teitel spends a tremendous amount of time with one of the fathers of American rocketry, Wernher von Braun. She explains his membership in the Nazi party, and eventual joining of the SS. She explains that the V2 rockets built during WW2 by von Braun and his team were physically constructed by concentration camp detainees. She explains how von Braun was as scientist, focused on the problems of rocketry, and how he made every effort to escape Germany as the war began to turn against Germany, and it became more possible to leave, and how he turned over all the information he physically could to the Americans.

And that's it. She does in one sentence, mention German research into human tolerances for pressure and temperature changes, and she mentions the slave labor which built his missiles. That's it.

The fact of the matter is that von Braun knew what was going on in Germany. He wasn't some Kurt on the front lines whose only job was to shoot towards Russia, with no idea what was going on back home. He was a man who worked IN A LABOR CAMP, supervising SLAVES. Yes, resisting the Nazis openly was not something a person tended to do if one wished to stay alive. Yes, he was a scientist, in love with his work, and unwilling to give it up for a principle. But let us remember Oscar Schindler. He joined the Nazi party for convenience, and the used his power to save his workers' lives. Von Braun simply groused the whole war about the shoddy work his starving slave laborers were doing.

Oh, and that research Ms. Teitel mentions in one sentence? That was the sort of horrific torturous nonsense perpetrated in the death camps. Jews and other prisoners were given the bends until they died, to see how much pressure they could take before they died. When you get the bends, your blood literally boils. You develop embolisms in your sinuses, and then in your brain. It is an excruciating way to die, and the poor subjects who survived one round of these pressure tests were then subjected to them over and over again until they died. Other subjects were literally frozen to death, in labs, so that German scientists could study the effects of hypothermia on human beings.

Yes, that knowledge is useful. Yes, at its most fundamental level science is apart from morals, it is morally neutral. Information is just that, information, which can be used for any purpose.

Von Braun knew all of this information because he was a high ranking SS agent. The United States chose to ignore this fact because we wanted to control the man who had designed the first major ballistic missiles. We brought Nazi sympathizers, outright Nazis, and high ranking members of a terrorist organization primarily responsible for the extermination of 3 million people into this country so we could get to the moon first.

I'm not saying the book has to spend chapter upon chapter castigating the principles figures in American rocketeering, but to not even acknowledge that this German research into pressure and temperature was conducted entirely through the medium of malicious and sadistic torture is cowardly.

This is a cowardly book. It presents an enthusiastic and technical picture of rocketry, which is very interesting to people who like learning about space travel, but it is a book written by a coward. A coward unwilling to explain the more complex elements of American history, which are VITAL. America was not the valiant underdog in the space race, baring its chest to the Soviet Union and drawing a line in the sand.

We were a nation spiriting perpetrators of horrific violence away from justice, so we could build better weapons of war.

Eisenhower was a decent man, who believed in the neutrality and scientific purpose of space flight, and this appears to be the only thing holding us back from developing space-faring rockets simply as a better delivery mechanism for our nuclear arsenal.

I don't know if I like this book. While it's interesting, I find it lacking in many fundamental ways. I don't think the fact that it's a straight history of rocketry excuses it from the imperative to face history unflinchingly and without sugar coating any aspect of it, or ignoring it.

I know I don't like Ms. Teitel.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars

I was very excited when I discovered this book. I am a huge fan of the history of spaceflight, and I’ve read dozens and dozens of books on the subject. I think the early years of spaceflight and rocket development are extremely cool and should have more written about them. These years usually get a chapter or two in other works before moving on to Project Mercury. A book dedicated to those early years would be a welcome addition to any space fan’s library. This book falls short.

This book covers a few of the major bullet points that have to be told to accurately cover this age. The first third of the book is dedicated to the German rocket scientists, including Wernher Von Braun, who developed the V-2 missile during WWII. The story follows them from the early days of rocket tests, to their arrival at Fort Bliss and the V-2 launches from White Sands. The book also covers the rivalry between the Vanguard and Redstone rockets to launch the first US satellite.

These parts of the book were nicely written and interesting, full of good details. I did take issue with some of the other topics the author covered. A good deal of the book was spent discussing the X-1 flights to break the sound barrier, the development of the X-15 rocket plane and Project Manhigh. This really frustrated me because I do not feel that so much of the book should have been dedicated to these projects. While you could loosely consider the X-15 and Project Manhigh to be “spaceflight,” I don’t believe the section on these should have been so long. I wouldn’t have minded these sections being in the book if the author hadn’t excluded so much actual spaceflight history and rocket research. I had hoped this book would at least touch on a few of the important people, places and events. She did not.

By the end, I was very disappointed. Some of the most interesting parts of spaceflight history before NASA occurred at the various research centers and contractors across the country. The author excludes a great deal that I consider to be more relevant to the history of spaceflight than the X-1 or Project Manhigh. While your average reader would probably learn a great deal from this book, they will be missing a lot of really cool history.

Also, please understand that there is no such missile as a Navajo. The Navajo are a Native American Tribe. The Navaho is a missile composed of a pilotless airplane attached to a rocket booster, built by North American Aviation. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Mixing up the two is a very lazy, amateur mistake.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a summary of the history of American (and German) rocketry up to the formation of NASA. Fascinating and well researched, with an enormous bibliography, this book is a good starting point to reading up on the history of space exploration.

[Matt Heavner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the U.S. efforts to get to space, pre-NASA. At the outset, the disclaimer of "for Goddard, look elsewhere" (to keep the book a reasonable length) was ok, but the counter was it felt to me like too much of this book focused around Von Braun. I can forgive this, because Von Braun is such a critical part of the story, but I felt like there should have been some space to Goddard, a bit less to Von Braun, and more to others. However, it was a really good history. I especially enjoyed the intrigue of Eisenhower and the IGY (International Geophysical Year) and Killian (the MIT president and first Presidential Science Advisor), the AF (Air Force) SAB (Science Advisory Board), NACA, the AEC, and the military vs peaceful use of space (intriguingly similar debate in nuclear physics, but with (perhaps?) different conclusions). At any rate, this book was an interesting review of early space exploration efforts.

[Gendou · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I'm a huge fan of space exploration and am curious about those first steps we took towards the technology that got us to The Moon. But this book was too short and didn't go into detail much beyond anecdotes that one can find on Wikipedia. It was mostly about WWII and military aircraft.

There were some interesting facts about early rocketry but the focus was on the kinds of things you learn in history class; which men did various things for the first time on such and such a date. So. Boring.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book with the story of space from late 1890s to July 1959, when NASA was created.
Most people are familiar with the story of early NASA, but this tells how the world got there.
I was fascinated to learn that most scientists believed that we could not build a rocket powerful enough to get to space. The few dreamers were ridiculed and laughed at. But step by step small progress was made. Interesting to learn how several of these early scientists and adventurers funded their research and made progress.
Of course during WWII, the Nazis took a group working within the German military, and brought pressures to bear to force them to create weapons.
After the war, a large group of them were brought to the US to further rocketry, mostly for military purposes. But the dream of putting something and eventually a man into space, kept coming up. The US almost came close, but because of competing priorities and branches of the military, opportunities were lost.
I found this to be an engaging and thrilling story.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Teitel points out in the preface, most books on US early steps into space exploration start with the rebranding of NACA to NASA, treating the fast-paced development of satellite and manned missions as if they started from scratch. In this very well-written short history, Teitel explores the work by many scientists that laid the groundwork for what came after. As she points out, each of the topics forming roughly a chapter in her book has had several book-length treatments on their own, so don't read this one expecting greatly detailed stories. What you get instead is a long-distance view that stitches together the interlocking histories of well-known characters like Wernher von Braun and lesser-known ones like John Paul Staap, who invented the rocket sled and used it on himself to explore human reactions to G-forces exceeding 20g in deceleration. I found it fascinating.

[Liz Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little too dense with rocket names for my poor brain, but a very quick and enjoyable read. (I know it took five days to get to the end, but Libby tells me I only spent 32 minutes reading. It's been a big week!)

[Vladimir Campos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been following Amy Shira Teitel's YouTube Channel for a while and I love it. When she mentioned she was working on a book it was just a matter of waiting for the Kindle version. Got it as soon as it was available at Amazon.

The book starts narrating Von Braun's early life, then his relationship with the Nazi regime and finally the move to the US. Amy will then describe the Air Force attempts to break the sound barrier and by the end of the book you'll find out how these and other facts are linked to Nasa's creation. There are also several World History references, like the Suez Crisis, that bring important perspective to the facts being narrated. Finally it's quite interesting to read about revolutionary early ideas that probably ended up as inspiration for some of Nasa's future achievements like the Shuttle and the ISS. And all that with Amy's nostalgia touch.

Thank's Amy!

[William Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good historical account of the steps going into the creation of the US space agency. The first third or so is largely concerned with the life of von Braun and the creation of rockets. I have a couple issues with skipping over the affect on Nazi prisoners during this time, and that lack of connection continues through the rest of the book. Although in the first part, we have von Braun as a character connection to the history, he's more on the back burner for the rest of the book, and large sections devolve into lists of dates and facts about what happens. I think with a stronger focus on character reactions and emotions and what the space program meant to them, I would have a better connection with this book.

[Albert Stadt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally good. Whitewashes the German V2 program in that it doesn't mention the rocket attacks on Britain. But it gets better when it moves to the North American space program.

[Doctor Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treitel is a good story teller. She is neither dry and simply factual, nor does she pump up the drama. In fact, I think her biggest virtue is letting the actual figures in the story display their own personalities. Some of the figures, e.g., Wernher von Braun, John Stapp, and Scott Crossfield, truly have larger than life personalities, and she lets them have their air time.

I think she also does a good job of depicting the marriage between the military and the science side of the development of rocketry. Some of the efforts, and some of the personalities, fell harder to one side or the other. Certainly the military imperatives of World War II were a dark blessing for the development of new technologies, as were those that followed during the cold war.

You could even read the story as a wrestling match, played both on a personal scale and on broader national scales, between military aspirations and space exploration. Von Braun dreams of trips to the Moon while building V-2s to be launched against Britain. Experimental planes like the X-15 derive from Eugen Sanger’s vision of an “antipodal bomber”. Astronauts ride in space capsules atop rockets designed as missile weapons. And at the end of the story, NASA emerges as a civilian agency under the Eisenhower administration, to the apparent frustration of the military branches, especially the Air Force.

Any story is going to be selective. One decision Treitel made was to leave out the contributions of Robert Goddard. She states that decision in the book’s Preface, citing the need to limit and focus the story. It’s understandable that she focused her story on the trail that begins with the German rocket group prior to WWII, but that trail did intersect with Goddard’s, or the technologies and approaches that he and his teams developed before his death in 1945. The omission still feels odd to me. The only mention of Goddard in the book is to say that he will not be part of the story.

One part of the book I especially appreciated was the story of competition and inefficiency in the multiple space and missile programs undertaken in the late fifties, by the US Navy, Army, and Air Force. Strategic decisions to separate missile and space programs, along with those inter-service rivalries could arguably be said to have been responsible for both the Soviet public victory with Sputnik and the perceived “missile gap” of the time.

A related debate over the next step for the American manned spaceflight strategy in the aftermath of Sputnik included a fascinating weighing of ballistic re-entry vehicles (space capsules) against gliders (space planes, descendants of the X-15 and precursors of the Space Shuttle). This was something I hadn’t read before.

I would have liked more coverage of the X-15’s story itself, and of its proposed successor, the X-20 DynaSoar. I’d recommend Milton Thompson’s At the Edge of Space to anyone who would like to read that story.

Now that I’ve read Teitel’s book, I’d like to read a similar story about the early days of the Soviet manned space program. If anyone has a recommendation, I’d love to hear it. One I’d recommend on the space race itself is Walter McDougall’s The Heavens and the Earth.

[Michael Dewey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a huge space nut, but I’d never really delved into the history of spaceflight pre-Nasa, and so this book by Amy Shira Teitel is exactly what I was looking for. I learned a great deal, and enjoyed the hell out of it.

Beginning in the early days of rocketry, Teitel introduces us to the German scientists who pioneered the field (albeit in the service of Naziism, which is danced around rather gingerly). We follow Werner von Braun and several others as they eventually make their escape from the Nazi regime, and ultimately find themselves in America, developing technology that would culminate in a race to put a satellite into orbit against the Soviet Union.

Several key individuals and memorable programs make their debut along the way. I especially enjoyed reading about Joseph Kittinger, the first man to fully witness the curvature of the earth with project Manhigh 1. (His stratospheric prank on his fellow cohort and scientist Simons had me laughing, and sent me off to research him more fully.) We also briefly meet a young Neil Armstrong, who finds himself filling a chance vacancy at Edwards Air Force Base by chance, when Scott Crossfield moved to North American Aviation to collaborate on the X-15 program. (It was interesting to learn that Armstrong never really relished the prospect of being a pilot, only to later become the first man on the moon. Life is weird and wonderful that way.) John Stapp, real-life precursor to the crash test dummy, was also incredibly intriguing to follow and read about. Repeatedly putting himself in the seat of the guinea pig, Stapp would suffer injuries ranging from broken bones to temporary blindness, all in the name of progress. These men were truly giants, and remain so to this day.

Full of adventure, plenty of names, places, dates, and facts…Breaking the Chains of Gravity is one phenomenal ride. I will have to revisit it one day, because I’m sure I won’t retain half of this information for very long.

Despite my 5 star rating, I feel there are a few things worth mentioning. The title of the book is slightly misleading, as it references the “story of spaceflight before NASA”, but it doesn’t mention any of the specific Soviet programs or developments which led to their victory in the satellite race with the successful launch of Sputnik. I had no idea just how badly they spanked the US in the process. This is largely a history of AMERICAN spaceflight, and I feel like there could have been some better wording of the title/theme to manage expectations. Second, although the book is a commentary on the history of spaceflight and not a political commentary, glossing over the atrocities that the Germans committed against the Jews (including a somewhat whitewashed tale of von Braun) didn’t serve to help the material. A few pages of commentary would’ve gone a long way to acknowledging the very real human tragedy which intertwined with these events in history.

Beyond these issues, I found the book to be highly informative, memorable, understandable, and great fun to read! I’ll be picking up Teitel’s other book, “Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Soaceflight” next.

[Jean-Luc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone knows the history of NASA: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit in 1957, the entire United States government made the :pikachu-shocked: face, and then NASA was started in 1958. But before NASA existed, the United States was trying to get into space. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the United States Air Force investigated the various possibilities of flying faster, higher, and farther than ever before. Everyone had ideas, but no one really knew for sure what would happen. Sometimes the various agencies and bureaucracies worked together... and sometimes they didn't.

This book covers:

* Werner von Braun and Walter Dornberger's fascination with rockets and their quest to build the V-1 and V2 for Nazi Germany.
* Eugen Sanger, von Braun's biggest rival in Nazi Germany, who pioneered research into suborbital flight.
* Hugh Dryden, NACA's Director of Aeronautical Research.
* Chuck Yeager, famous of course for breaking the sound barrier.
* Scott Crossfield, a NACA test pilot before going to North American Aviation.
* Chalmers Goodlin, Bell test pilot who could've been first to break the sound barrier.
* Neil Armstrong was a NACA test pilot!
* Charlie Feltz, X-15 chief engineer.
* Harrison Storms - X-15 engineer
* Mel Apt - X-2 test pilot who first broke Mach 3, killed in attempt.
* Joe Kittinger - arguably the first man in space, depending on how you define space. Set a record of 96,000 feet in a tiny capsule to verify it'd be safe to go that high.
* David Simons - supervised Kittinger's test, then set high altitude records of his own to see how we'd react to weightlessness.
* John Paul Stapp - Simons' commanding officer, rocket sled researcher who spent alot of time investigating the effects of deceleration on humans.
* Otto Winzen and Vera Simons - worked on the sort of balloons that the US Army, Navy, and Air Force used for their high altitude research.
* James Killian - Eisenhower's advisor who eventually birthed NASA.
* Thomas Keith Glennan - NASA's first administrator.

And so many more! Some of those (von Braun, Yeager, Armstrong) are household names, but most are not. For example, Charlie Feltz doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry! This is my main criticism of the book: the people glossary @ the end of the book is woefully inadequate. There's alot going on here!

The only other criticism is that the book weirdly glosses over the Nazi's use of slaves when developing rockets. Water under the bridge, I suppose?

I love the author's The Vintage Space youtube channel! She knows this period so well, and her enthusiasm is infectious. This book is an easy pickup for anyone interested in space or American history.

[Brian Manville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy Shira Teitel has made a niche for herself in the science community through her Vintage Space YouTube page and twitter account (@atsvintagespace) discussing space-related topics. She took a very specialized area of study - science history - and created a means to share what she's found with her audience. One topic, even in the space nerd community that never gets a lot of discussion is the time period before the creation of NASA in 1958. It is this void that Ms. Teitel goes in search of the (under-)told story of those early days of spaceflight.

This search obviously starts with Wernher von Braun and the Nazis. Even in the 1920s, von Braun and others in Germany were thinking ahead to a future with spaceflight. With most everything else in Germany during the change from the Weimar Republic to the Nazi, von Braun and his Verein fur Raumschiffahrt (VfR) associates were swept up in Hitler's grand designs to conquer Europe. While it can be stated that von Braun was in the SS, the author is sure to point out that von Braun was anything but a willing participant.

As the war ended, von Braun knew his best chance was to cast his lot with the Americans. His Nazi past was to be an issue here and there, but lingering anti-German bigotry was put aside in the name of overcoming the alleged "missile gap" and later to catch up in the space race. We are given names, dates, programs, and acronyms that you almost need a program to keep them all straight. Fortunately, Ms. Teitel crafts a wonderful story that doesn't bore yet give the information to tell a good story. For fellow space nerds, it is literally the holy grail.

The only real drawback to the story is the absence of early luminaries such as Robert Goddard. As she states in the preface, she wanted to make sure that this was a history that would be accessible to a wide audience, so certain elements were left out. Given that the main thrust of this history comes through German engineers, this is an understandable oversight and does not take away from the book.

From her Instagram feed, it appears Ms. Teitel is working on another book. If so, this reviewer will welcome it with open arms as her first effort was a masterstroke of story-telling.

BOTTOM LINE: Required reading for space nerds; good reading for the casual historian.

[Danny Tio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a concise yet mostly well-organized introduction to the origins of the U.S. space program, seemingly targeting the layperson. It sufficiently fills a gap in popular spaceflight literature in covering a period often overlooked: the pre-NASA era when the institutional framework for American rocketry was still forming. Teitel highlights how military rivalry, politics, and a handful of determined individuals pushed US efforts in space.

The first third of the book is heavily weighted toward Operation Paperclip and the German engineers who came to the United States. This emphasis is justified, as their role in shaping America’s rocket program is central to its lore. Teitel effectively contrasts military imperatives with scientific aspirations, showing how civilian exploration was often born from technologies first justified by war. The tension between rockets as tools of destruction and rockets as vessels of exploration gives the narrative real depth. I also enjoyed the portrayal of the interservice struggle among the Army, Navy, and Air Force for control of rocket development.

Some choices for focus, however, feel limiting. Teitel acknowledges in the preface that she excluded Robert Goddard, but his absence is a questionable omission. Goddard’s experimental work is foundational to American rocketry, and leaving him out makes the narrative feel as though it begins midstream, already within a framework that his work helped shape. The insertion of Eisenhower’s election also feels awkward in pacing and placement as it seems to be a sidetrack from spaceflight development.

The book follows figures such as von Braun, Scott Crossfield, and Paul Stapp, as well as projects like Manhigh and hypersonic aircraft. While these threads provide structure, the story would have benefited from more depth in character motivations and societal reactions—for instance, how Americans responded to Operation Paperclip or what Alabama locals thought of their new neighbors. By comparison, the ending feels compressed, as if rushing through the final transitions without the detail and momentum of earlier chapters.

Even with these shortcomings, Teitel’s writing style keeps the book engaging. She presents facts through a narrative voice that borders on the fictional in its readability, never bogging the story down with excessive detail.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Teitel is a space historian and producer of the popular YouTube channel Vintage Space, in which she presents short segments focusing on particular bits of space history. The subject matter of this book is fascinating, and not only because it is not as popular as the early NASA period from the formation of the agency to the end of the Apollo Program, which is documented and described in hundreds of books and documentaries. The story of the German rocketeers before and during World War II reads almost like a thriller.

Ms. Teitel lays out the subject matter clearly, mostly avoiding confusion by periodically reminding the reader of myriad programs and initiatives with repeated mentions of names. Given the very intricate events and relationships of the post-war US rocket launch initiatives, this is no small feat.  While clarity is achieved, a history should focus on bringing people and events to life. This one fails to really grip the reader and would probably not be very an interesting read to the non-enthusiast. A more in-depth focus on a changing society, or a deep dive into technology, or character analysis of particular figures and their motivations, would have made the whole thing more engaging and less bland. Put bluntly, the story told lacks the ability to provoke passion in the reader because there is little depth presented. Many parts read like an encyclopedia entry.

The prose could use some polish, perhaps with stricter editing. There is an overuse of "as well" and "also". Too many sentences start with conjunctions, making for a sometimes jarring rhythm in the text. The decision to use purely US/Imperial units without conversions even in footnotes makes the text less accessible to readers from most of the world.

The subtitle is somewhat misleading. While the Soviet space program is frequently featured, there is no in-depth analysis of that side, and information on the adversary serves mostly as background to the US program.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/2018/06/...

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read certainly, yet still a bit of a disappointment. While there are lots of very interesting historical points presented, the whole thing felt very disjointed. The events chronicled are all pretty scattered until the last 25% or so of the book. Unfortunately, by that point the birth of NASA is only couple of years off and there is no logical connectivity to those disparate events occurring before that time. Undoubtedly the many research projects and tests described influenced the formation and charter of NASA, but it is never made clear how. There were also a number of what felt like rather pointless inclusions in the narrative. Didn’t really need a dissertation on “Americans’ familiarity with rockets” because of the “rocket’s red glare” lyric in The Star-Spangled Banner [?!?]. Didn’t need an explanation of who Daedalus and Icarus were. Didn’t particularly need to be instructed on how Dwight Eisenhower became the Republican presidential candidate in 1952. And it felt even a bit condescending to be told what “supersonic” means. Really? Point is: none of these things helped tell the story of spaceflight before NASA. If anything, they were just filler. Better to toss that stuff and offer some explanation on how supersonic flight research (for example) influenced the Redstone Arsenal rocket development programs going on at the same time. That would have been meaningful, but it didn’t happen. As I say: a bit of a disappointment.

[Roger Neyman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I own both the Kindle and the audio book.

For someone interested in the details of the history of the US space program, and its precursors in Germany, the book is the right place to go. It is thorough and articulately written.

So why the "It was OK" rating? I wanted this book to be more than a chronology. It's a very good and detailed chronology, but after a while the seemingly endless succession of projects, teams, design alternatives, political interventions, vested interests, and technical challenges overcome becomes something of an exhausting pile of detail.

I wanted a book that helped me understand the significance of the human effort to "Break the Chains of Gravity", including addressing some of the moral imperatives and constraints operating, but this ain't that book. Teitel pretty much leaves it up to the reader to notice the longer term narrative development in the story for themselves, and mentions the larger issues not at all.

Worse, the choice of what to chronicle is strangely selective. The narrative ends at the point NASA is formed, before those metaphorical chains are first broken. It begins in Germany, and then, takes up multiple parallel histories in the United States. The history of the Soviet space program is only presented in the role of antagonist and spur to the US effort(s).

The audio is tiring to listen to because the text is such an endless series of events and facts. The voice artist does the best she can, but...

[Lewis Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you love reading about the RFP process? What about feuds between different service branches of the American military? If not, take my advice and give this book a pass. There are a few moments of interest, like when we read of the “Man High” balloon flights and the challenges of breaking the sound barrier. But on the whole this book is obsessed with the most trivial, uninteresting, and boring aspects of its subject. I wanted more on the scientific and design challenges that had to be addressed to reach space and less of an organizational history of the American military and other assorted esoterica. I found myself saying "who cares? Get back to the good stuff!" for most of my time with this book.

The title is also inaccurate: this is not the story of spaceflight before NASA; it is the story of American spaceflight before NASA. There is no mention of Soviet research or tests until Sputnik bursts onto the scene, as much of a surprise to the reader as it was to the Americans who lived through it. Even after this, the book does not mention a single Soviet scientist, test pilot, or research program by name. Finally, the book’s treatment of Werhner von Braun, card-carrying Nazi and member of the SS who was willing to let his work be used to literally any end, is astoundingly uncritical.

[Javier Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent first book by the author, it's clear the interest and passion of the subject really shine through. The focus is primarily on the unheard and often overlooked aspects as to how NASA as an agency with is particular mission came to be. While its cast of characters is not heavily emphasized as Ms. Teitels next book, her work here shows how history may have been very different had individuals such as President Eisenhower not seen the need to make civilian control and administration of space exploration a pre-requisite to any cutting edge research.

It also highlights the many inter-service squabbled the post-WW2 U.S. military had with one another (the Navy, Air Force and the Army's missile development) had with one another, making joint efforts seem silly in retrospect. Otherwise, an excellent primer for the uninitiated as to how NASA became NASA. Quite a simple task, and anything but easy as you read. But the author certainly captures the spirit and difficulties of the moment very well.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Das Buch gibt einen tollen detaillierten Einblick in die Geschichte der Raumfahrt vor NASA's Gründung.

Los geht es in Deutschland kurz vor dem Beginn des zweiten Weltkrieges. Das Buch stellt viele Forscher vor die damals noch mit anderen Hobby-Raumfahrt Fans versuchten ihre Raketen immer höher und höher fliegen zu lassen. Als die Entwicklungen auch interessant für das Militär wurden, konnten die Forscher ihr Hobby zum Beruf machen und damit nahm die ganze Entwicklung spätestens während des zweiten Weltkrieges richtig Fahrt an.

Sehr ausführlich wurde das Leben von Wernher von Braun beschrieben der damals gemeinsam mit Walter Dornberger die Aggregate Rakten-Serie entwickelte. Die bekannteste Rakete der Reihe ist wohl die A-4 auch bekannt als V-2.

Das Buch ist jedem Raumfahrt-Fan zu empfehlen der noch weiter zurück in die Geschichte als das Mercury und Gemini-Programm (mit der Gründung von NASA hört das Buch nämlich auf) blicken möchte.

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information in this book about the years prior to the formation of NASA. She focused mostly on NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) and delves into the history of the German V2 rocket and Werher von Braun. There's also good information on the X-15. I rather liked the book but it was spoiled by the lack of a good editor who would have reigned in her tendency to lengthy aka "run on" sentences. She also repeatedly referred NACA as "the NACA" which, while it may be correct English, struck me as very awkward. A good book for a space geek like me. I gave it a 6 because the awkward language made it harder to read than it should have been.

Wes Brevig I should note that Amy hosts a really good video blog site called Vintage Space mostly about pre-shuttle stuff. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw95...

[K De · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read on what happened before NASA with the ability of Germans who were interested in rocketry and space flight both manned and unmanned is the main focus of the book. Given that focus I think Amy Teitel writes clearly and with authority. The use of German scientists and engineers in jump starting the US space program is uncontestable but she does gloss over the ethical concerns with regard to the use of slave labor in the Nazi V rocket programs. I would say that it is the biggest fault of the book. I did find the use of high altitude ballooning in the quest to see how human beings are affected by radiation and other factors to be something that I wasn't aware of. Well worth reading about the early beginnings of the space programs in Germany and the US.

[Bob Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Mercury … laying the groundwork

I’m 70 now and grew up in Los Angeles in a community where most of my neighbors worked in aerospace. Like most kids of the 1950s I became a space junkie. But my own well-educated children take it all for granted … “yeah, men went to the moon, yawn.”
That’s a big reason why I find the works of Amy Shira Teitel so fascinating and refreshing. She reminds me, and more importantly those of her generation and even younger, how exciting and inspiring space history and science in general can and should be to us all.
She is younger than both of my children, yet cares about this subject as much or more than I ever did. That’s something.
This book is interesting and important reading … and at least for me, a real page-turner.

[Martin Greaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Shira Teitel tells the story of space flight from around the 1920s up to formation of NASA. She covers the people, places, technology and politics. The vision of those early pioneers, including von Braun but not only, was remarkable. For example, von Braun detailed how a manned mission to Mars could happen before even Sputnik had flown.

And how the US failed to get the first satellite into space, because for example competition between the Army Navy and Air Force meant nothing got funded properly and maybe even the wrong proposals were chosen.

The writing is accessible and engaging and gives a comprehensive account of less well known part of space history, and sets the context for the better known areas like the moon landings. Highly recommended.

[Rafael Ontivero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pese a contener mucha información, el libro está bastante mal organizado. Va de un tema a otro sin mucha coherencia, se deja cosas sin contar y narra otras con demasiado detalle.

De hecho la parte central del libro sobra, contando cómo se sobrepasó la barrera del sonido o los tejemanejes entre la Marina y la Armada americanas, que poco tienen que ver con la cohetería si no es de forma incidental.

Solo los tres capítulos finales centran el tema de la exploración espacial como tal, y los primeros en los que se cuentan los inicios de von Braun y la gestación de las V-1 y V-2 alemanas. Nada más.

Ciertamente un libro bastante pobre aunque, eso sí, se lee bastante rápido.

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won an Advance Reading Copy of Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight before NASA by Amy Shira Teitel in a Goodreads Giveaway. This is a History of Science work which chronicles the space race from the pre-space and rocket origins up to the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. While being informative, the book is readable and enjoyable. I received an uncorrected proof but there were very few errors, which for this format is unexpected. I recommend this book to any reader interested in science, space, aviation, history (esp. military or aviation history), and non-fiction.

[David Clifton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating read! It was great fun to read while having access to Google or Wikipedia to look up references to people, scientific programs, or faster-than-sound aircraft.
I enjoyed learning about some of the "shakers and movers" in spaceflight development - Wernher von Braun and Dwight D. Eisnehower being the most obvious. I'm anxious to read biographies about both of them. John F. Kennedy may get credit for inspiring us to put a man on the moon, but without the foresight and leadership of Dwight D. Eisenhower, it would not have happened as quickly as it did.
I'm hoping that Ms. Teitel plans to write a sequel - recounting the history of the manned space program.

[Phil Wujek · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've seen the author, Amy Shira Teitel, on many TV programs on the Discovery Channel, the Military Channel, and the SyFy Channel. Don't let her youth and good looks fool you, she is a sharp author. The book is fascinating, as it covers the story of spaceflight from what is now looked upon as laughable right up to the formation of NASA! Before the formation of NASA there was much competition over just which agency would pioneer space flight. Almost comical, a bit sad, but in the end President Eisenhower pulled it all together by seeing that NASA came into existence. This would be a good book to read before reading "The Right Stuff" by Thomas Wolfe.