The Race: The Complete True Story of How America Beat Russia to the Moon

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Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Jun 30, 2010 - History - 336 pages
"Indispensable to anyone interested in the space race."--Houston Chronicle

In 1963, a young reporter for Time-Life named James Schefter was given a dream job: cover America's race to the moon.  Since the astronauts were under contract to Life for their stories, Schefter was given complete access to the biggest players at NASA.  But at the time, his primary role was to excite the public about the new, expensive, experimental space program, and he couldn't write about everything he saw.  In The Race, he does.

From drunken astronaut escapades to near disasters to ferocious political battles, the race to the moon was anything but the smooth process it appeared.  There were vicious fights between the engineers, feuds and practical jokes, near-fatal accidents, and dozens of brave, smart, and colorful characters pulling off the greatest exploration in the history of humankind. Like Undaunted Courage and D-Day, this is a tale of achieving the extraordinary against extraordinary odds.  As incredible as the "official" story of the space program is, the true, behind-the-scenes tale is more thrilling, more entertaining, and ultimately more ennobling.  

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Contents

Section 1
1
Section 2
3
Section 3
24
Section 4
50
Section 5
75
Section 6
92
Section 7
100
Section 8
128
Section 13
145
Section 14
145
Section 15
145
Section 16
145
Section 17
190
Section 18
208
Section 19
232
Section 20
247

Section 9
145
Section 10
145
Section 11
145
Section 12
145
Section 21
270
Section 22
287
Section 23
289
Copyright

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About the author (2010)

James Schefter was Time-Life's NASA correspondent from 1963 to 1973.  His work has appeared in magazines as diverse as Popular Science, Reader's Digest and Paris Match.  He is the author of All Corvettes Are Red: The Rebirth of an American Legend.  He lives in Park City, Utah.

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