The Race to the Moon: The History and Legacy of the Cold War Competition Between the Soviet Union and the United States
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Mary Rossman
()
About this audiobook
Today the Space Race is widely viewed poignantly and fondly as a race to the Moon that culminated with Apollo 11 “winning” the Race for the United States. In fact, it encompassed a much broader range of competition between the Soviet Union and the United States that affected everything from military technology to successfully launching satellites that could land on Mars or orbit other planets in the Solar System. Moreover, the notion that America “won” the Space Race at the end of the 1960s overlooks just how competitive the Space Race actually was in launching people into orbit, as well as the major contributions the Space Race influenced in leading to today’s International Space Station and continued space exploration.
In fact, the Soviet Union had spent much of the 1950s leaving the United States in its dust (and rocket fuel). President Eisenhower and other Americans who could view Soviet rockets in the sky were justifiably worried that Soviet satellites in orbit could soon be spying on them, or, even worse, dropping nuclear bombs on them. And in 1960, when Eisenhower’s administration began planning and funding for the famous Apollo program that would land the first men on the Moon in 1969, the Soviet Union was already thinking further ahead to Mars.
During the 1960s, NASA would spend tens of billions on the Apollo missions, the most expensive peacetime program in American history to that point, and even though Apollo 11 was only one of almost 20 Apollo missions, it was certainly the crown jewel. only one of nearly 20 Apollo missions conducted by NASA. And to make Apollo 11 a success, it would take nearly a decade of planning by government officials, hard work by NASA scientists, intense training by the astronauts, and several missions preceding Apollo 11. It also cost over $20 billion, making the Apollo program the most expensive peacetime program in American history at the time.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame de Pompadour: The Life and Legacy of French King Louis XV’s Chief Mistress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Culper Ring: The History and Legacy of the Revolutionary War's Most Famous Spy Ring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of the Somme: The History and Legacy of World War I’s Biggest Battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of Hamburger Hill: The History and Legacy of One of the Vietnam War's Most Controversial Battles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Race to the Moon
Related audiobooks
NASA’s Space Race Programs: The History and Legacy of NASA Missions in the 1950s and 1960s Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReaching the Moon: The History of the NASA Programs that Led to the Successful Apollo Missions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsProject Gemini: The History and Legacy of NASA’s Human Spaceflight Missions Before the Apollo Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Apollo 13 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cosmic Careers: Exploring the Universe of Opportunities in the Space Industries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMercury and Gemini: The History and Legacy of NASA’s Groundbreaking Spaceflight Programs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Moon Missions Before Apollo: The History of NASA’s Pioneer, Ranger, and Surveyor Programs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Infinite Cosmos: Humanity's Journey Through the Stars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of Moon Mission Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory Revealed: The Space Race: Episode 72 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Apollo Moon Landings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moon's First Friends: One Giant Leap for Friendship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Surveyor Program: The History and Legacy of NASA’s First Successful Moon Landing Missions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings100 Days: How Four Events in 1969 Shaped America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky 13: Survival in Space Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All about Mars Journeys and Settlement Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Viking Program: The History and Legacy of NASA's First Missions to Mars Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Apollo 11: An AP Special Anniversary Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Man on the Moon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5NASA Programs in the 1970s: The History and Legacy of the Space Agency’s Missions to Mars and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTeam Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sailing the Solar System: The Next 100 Years of Space Exploration Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPacking for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton's Moon Shot Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Voyager Program: The History and Legacy of NASA's First Probes that Traveled to the Outer Solar System Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Apollo 13 Mission: Core Events of a Crisis in Space Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hispanic Star: Ellen Ochoa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGalaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
United States History For You
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Up From Slavery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5John Adams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: 2nd Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Untold History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Here—and Out There Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Charlie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That Changed America Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln: A Nutty Story About Edwin Booth and Boston Corbett Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wright Brothers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Race to the Moon
0 ratings0 reviews