February 1982:space book reviews

The History of Manned Spaceflight David Baker, New Cavendish Books, 544pp, 1981.

Anyone who has read Dr. Baker’s books and articles (many of them in Spaceflight) will know the high standard of his work. This book is no exception. In "The Rocket” he traced the development of rockets from ancient times to the present in great detail. Now, in this companion volume, he traces the fascinating story of manned spaceflight up to early 1981.

We are taken through the trials and tribulations of the American programme at length but, of course, the Soviet side cannot be treated in the same way. Beginning with the early theoreticians we travel through Mercury, Vostok, Gemini, Voskhod, Soyuz, Apollo, Skylab and Salyut, ending just short of the Shuttle. It is a well-covered subject but this is the first time it has all been put together under one cover in such detail. The result weighs about 10 lbs!

This is a major addition to any space buff’s shelves and one which will remain valued for years. Dr. Baker is to be congratulated on his work.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology: a Comprehensive History of Space Exploration Principal author Kenneth Gatland, Salamander Books, 289pp. 1981.

The arrangement of this volume consists of 21 chapters, each on a topic such as space pioneers, space centres, man in space, military systems, Earth observation, men on the Moon, ASTP, Shuttle, etc. The last six chapters look ahead: flight to Mars, space factories, solar power satellites, Moon bases, space cities, and starships.

Also included are an inspiring foreword by Arthur C. Clarke, a space diary listing every significant event including all manned flights, a glossary, a list giving details of the world's launch vehicles (on the endpapers, and very comprehensive: it even includes the private ventures of OTRAG and Bob Truax), and an index. The last follows the publisher’s practice of lists under heavy-type headings like “Extra Vehicular Activities,","Materials,” “Moon,” “Rocket fuels,” “Rocket motors,” "Rockets” (a long list!), “Satellite and spacecraft launch vehicles,” etc.

A feature common with others in the series is the magnificent illustrations, including 20 two-page spreads showing, often in cutaway,such things as early rocket designs, Vostok and Mercury, Apollo,ASTP, and the Shuttle, as well as - a particular feature of the series - two enormous fold-outs, one showing 53 launchers to scale, and the other cutaways of Skylab and Salyut 6. There are also countless other illustrations - almost every page has at least one - photographs, drawings and maps, nearly all in colour. They include the first published maps of the Soviet and Chinese launch sites.