Drawing on newly declassified information about the development of the U.S. and Soviet space programs and their impact on each other, and featuring 16 pages of photos, this fascinating factual account captures all the drama of the Space Race from before the Mercury program to the original seven astronauts, the Gemini and Apollo programs, through Skylab and up to the space shuttle. With vivid detail, it portrays the events and emotions of every mission against the backdrop of other significant events of the times.