Aeronautics Industry

Jim Oberg · Guest

Book Review: Into That Silent Sea by Francis French and Colin Burgess

Written by Tim Gebhart
Published April 22, 2007

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/04/22/214109.php

I'm still trying to figure out if the news in the days preceding the release
of Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era 1961-1965 symbolizes
irony or progress.

As the subtitle indicates, the book examines the first efforts by the U.S.
and the Soviet Union to put humans into space. One of the areas in which the
book excels is reminding us just how hazardous those initial steps were and
how they grabbed worldwide attention. The book arrives shortly after the
46th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human to travel into
space, one seemingly noted in passing at best. That anniversary came amidst
the latest exchange of crew members on the International Space Station. At
least in America, that event seems to have drawn attention for one reason -
celebrity Martha Stewart planned a meal for the crew because a billionaire
buddy of hers is the latest to pay millions to be a space tourist.