Live from Cape Canaveral - Covering the Space Race, from Sputnik to Today

Barbree got his first taste of covering the space race in 1957 when he did a cursory radio report on the launch of Russia's Sputnik 1 launch, the satellite that finally lit a match under the lagging efforts of U.S. space exploration. In this engrossing memoir, he retraces the politics—domestic and international—as well as the science and technology behind the U.S. space program. Barbree has covered every mission flown by astronauts from Sputnik to the failed U.S. Vanguard, later triumphs and the tragedies of Challenger and Columbia, and the drama of Apollo 13. He includes firsthand details on the personalities behind the missions: Werner von Braun, the German-born scientist who pushed to start the U.S. program, and astronauts Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and others. With obvious love of his work, Barbree offers dramatic descriptions of the launches and revealing looks at the camaraderie among the astronauts and the reporters who covered the beat. A fascinating look at the people behind the U.S. space program.