October 21, 2004
This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age by William E. Burrows
William Burrows does not explain exactly what he means by "The First Space Age" until the last chapter of the book. He is referring to the militaristic space race between the two cold-war rivals: America and the Soviet Union. Even pure scientific endeavours had to be funded by exploiting politicians who feared that the other side would do it first. That history still colors most of space research today and this long arc of time is the main focus of this book.
The main appeal of reading a detailed history of spaceflight is that you get at least a glimpse at the thousands of people other than the astronauts who were behind the scenes in the many missions to space undertaken around the world. It takes a book like this to help us appreciate the real scale of each effort in spaceflight.
Despite the relatively short time that humans have had spaceflight, there are far too many historical details for even a 700 page book to cover exhaustively. Fortunately, where some of the details are lost in this book (for example, the Apollo missions after Apollo-11) there are entire books that deal with these subjects. Hence, despite its length, this book serves only as an essential introduction to the history of spaceflight. Don't read this book if you want a detailed description of any particular mission to space. However, by sacrificing details of particular missions Burrows makes room for a more comprehensive description of human endeavours in space -- not just concentrating on the more glamorous manned missions, but also describing in deserving detail the unmanned missions. Burrows also is careful enough to present the stories of many of the engineers and managers without whom no space program would exist.
If you consider yourself an enthusiast of space exploration this book is a must-read. You are likely to find many new facts here including many surprising ones. However, it is not just for the facts that one should read this book. Burrows also tackles the philosophical issues involved in the rationale for spaceflight. Burrows is careful not to dismiss out of hand those voices that were opposed to space exploration (mainly because of the costs involved). Rather, Burrows gives voice to the many scientists who have argued for the importance of space as a human endeavour. These arguments, both pro and con, are spread throughout the book and helped to sharpen my own opinion about the reasons for space exploration.
Apart from the engineering and science history, Burrows also tries to document the politics behind the thrust into space by the United States and the Soviet Union. The now infamous military-industrial nexus that drove space research in both of the superpowers is documented and discussed in great detail. Personally, I found this to be less interesting than the science history.
Burrows' writing is at its best when he tries to convey the amazing feat of flinging manmade objects out into space. However, there are also quite a few annoying aspects in the writing. In many places, only the last name of a person is mentioned and one is forced to go through the index to find the full name and description of this person. This happens far too often and should not have overlooked by the editors. Also, there is some repetition of facts, but that is to be expected in a book of this scope.
Due to the focus of Burrows' books, there is very little discussion about the space programs of countries other than the US and Russia. Apart from a few references in Chapter 17 ("The Second Space Age"), there is no information about whether or not countries other than the superpowers could develop a viable space program in the future. Such information would have been fitting in a book that has such a wide breadth about space exploration.
Another book that seems to tread the same ground is "Countdown: A History of Space Flight" by T. A. Heppenheimer. Unfortunately, I haven't read it and so am unable to compare their content.
%T This New Ocean %T :The Story of the First Space Age %A William E. Burrows %I Modern Library Paperback Edition %D 1998 %G ISBN: 0375754857 (pb) %P 723 %K history, space exploration
Date written: 2000/04/10
Posted by anoop at October 21, 2004 12:57 PM