Rockets, Missles and Men in Space: A Definitive Account of the History of Space Flight - from Its Origins to the Agenda for Tomorrow

by Willy Ley

A history of rockets from prehistoric times to the (then) present day, and of ideas about the possibilities of space travel past and present.

Genres: Science, History, Space, Astronomy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Willy Ley (sometimes credited as Willie Ley) was a German-American science writer and space advocate who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight in both Germany and the United States. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.

Reviews

[Gregory Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as entertainment during my sophomore year in high school after the first moon landings. I still remember being excited when Mr. Ley explained oribital velocity and weightlessness (free fall) in a way that joined the two concepts as one and the same. I went on to complete an engineering degreee with the confidence of some of the things he enabled for me in this book. Very readable and enjoyable discussion of the history of rocketry with enough math, diagrams, photos, and tabular data to refer to with his writing.

[Thomas Lundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rockets, Missiles & Space Travel is an engaging book, containing a startling amount of technical detail for a work intended for a general audience.

My favorite copy, Rockets, Missiles & Space Travel; Revised and enlarged edition with Sputnik data, from 1958 is by no means luxe. Indeed, it is not nearly as well produced as some earlier editions I have seen. In particular, the paper seems to be quite cheap—almost pulp magazine quality. It seems clear to me that it was a mass-market book.

In his Forward to the Sixth Printing, author Willy Ley notes that this particular edition was rushed onto bookstore shelves in response to the Sputnik panic that gripped the USA in October of 1957. Ley goes so far as to scold the Government and citizens for being so blindsided by events.

The very first result of of the appearance of Sputnik zemli I
can best be expressed by paraphrasing Sir Winston Churchill—rarely has more drivel been produced so fast by so many, including presidential advisers, retired military men, and well-known columnists.

One of the stranger aspects of the whole was the insistence by many prominent figures the event of October 4, 1957, had been a great surprise. With the permission of the court of public opinion, I should like to submit a few exhibits

[Six examples of information about the Sputnik program being easily available to the public]

This is by no means a complete list, which would occupy several pages. But it indicates that the people who were surprised must be rather careless readers of the daily news.

I can't imagine that any contemporary popular work, intended for volume sales, could be as unapologetically demanding or critical of the American public.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

An early history of rockets with scientific speculations about space travel. First published in 1951. My edition is the 1958 edition. The Soviet Sputnik and the American Explorer and Vanguard satellites are not in the main body of the text, but in an appendix near the end of the book. This edition was obviously rushed to print because of rapid advances caused by the Soviet surprise launch of Sputnik I in 1957.

If you want to get a first hand view of pre-Sputnik rocketry, this book is a good read.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

My copy of this book was published in 1958, at the dawn of the space age. This book covers the history of rocketry up to the then state of the art. It is a history both of people and of the rockets themselves; personal commentary is interwoven with technical details.

Those with a technical background will find this interesting, as will those who are simply curious.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are into the topic, this book is fantastic. An insiders take on the early space age. Classic.