pTo commemorate the momentous 50supth/sup anniversary of Yuri
Gagarin's pioneering journey into space on 12supth/sup April
2011, a series of five books - to be published annually - will
explore this half century, decade by decade, to discover how
humanity's knowledge of flying, working and living in space has
changed. Each volume will focus not only upon the individual
missions within 'its' decade, but also upon the key
challenges facing human space exploration at specific points within
those 50 years: from the simple problems of breathing and eating in
space to the challenges of venturing outside in a pressurised
spacesuit and locomotion on the Moon./ppThe first volume of this
series will focus upon the 1960s, exploring each mission from April
1961 to April 1971 in depth: from the pioneering Vostok flights to
the establishment of the first Salyut space station and from Alan
Shepard's modest sub-orbital 'hop' into space to his
triumphant arrival at the Moon's Fra Mauro foothills almost a
decade later./p
From the reviews: "Escaping the Bonds of Earth is a comprehensive account of human space exploration, from the early planning phases in the late fifties ... . The book describes the space rivalry not only between the two opposing nations, but also within the US space program itself. ... Escaping the Bonds of Earth is not only enjoyable and educational to read, but would be a great addition to anyone's space exploration library. ... quality of this work would make it an excellent text for many history courses." (Stephen Adamczyk, National Space Society, September, 2009) "There are countless space buffs in the world, but writer Evans ... stands out for his detailed historical account of the first decade of the space age. ... The text is liberally illustrated with photos and carefully referenced. ... This book is a must have for any space aficionado. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of readership." (T. D. Oswalt, Choice, Vol. 47 (5), January, 2010)
Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction. From the East The Vostok missions. Monkeys to Men The Mercury missions. Space Spectaculars The twin Voskhod missions. Pushing the Envelope The Gemini missions. Disaster and Revival The Soyuz 1 and Apollo 1 tragedies and aftermath. To the Moon The United States' drive for the Moon, up to Apollo 14. At Home in Space Soviet direction changes from lunar exploration to long term space stations. Epilogue The progress of the human space program in the 1960s.
