Sputnik: The Shock of the Century by Paul Dickson - Why America Wasn't First in Space

On October 4, 1957, as Leave It to Beaver premiered on American television, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made object into space, a 184-pound satellite carrying only a radio transmitter. While Sputnik I immediately shocked the world, its long-term impact was even greater, for it profoundly changed the shape of the twentieth century.

Washington journalist Paul Dickson chronicles the dramatic events and developments leading up to and emanating from Sputniks launch. Supported by groundbreaking, original research and many recently declassified documents, Sputnik offers a fascinating profile of the early American and Soviet space programs and a strikingly revised picture of the politics and personalities behind the facade of Americas fledgling efforts to get into space.

Although Sputnik was unmanned, its story is intensely human. Sputnik owed its success to many people, from the earlier visionary, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, whose rocket theories were ahead of their time, to the Soviet spokesmen strategically positioned around the world on the day the satellite was launched, who created one of the greatest public-relations events of all time. Its chief designer, however-the brilliant Sergey Korolov-remained a Soviet state secret until after his death.

Equally hidden from view was the political intrigue dominating Americas early space program, as the military services jockeyed for control and identity in a peacetime world. For years, former Nazi Wernher von Braun, who ran the U.S. Armys missile program, lobbied for his rocket team to be handed responsibility for the first Earth-orbiting satellite. He was outraged that Sputnik beat him and America into space. President Eisenhower, though, was secretly pleased that the Russians had launched first, because by orbiting over the United States Sputnik established the principle of freedom of space that could justify the spy satellites he thought essential to monitor Soviet missile buildup. As Dickson reveals, Eisenhower was, in fact, much more a master of the Sputnik crisis than he appeared to be at the time and in subsequent accounts.

The U.S. public reaction to Sputnik was monumental. In a single weekend, Americans were wrenched out of a mood of national smugness and post-war material comfort. Initial shock at and fear of the Soviets intentions galvanized the country and swiftly prompted innovative developments that define our world today. Sputnik directly or indirectly influenced nearly every aspect of American life, from the demise of the suddenly superfluous tail fin and an immediate shift towards science in the classroom to the arms race that defined the cold war, the competition to reach the Moon, and the birth of the Internet.

Shedding new light on a pivotal era, Paul Dickson reminds us that the story of Sputnik goes far beyond technology and the beginning of the space age, and that its implications are still being felt today.

Why America Wasn't First in Space
Sputnik was the "beep-beep-beep" heard around the world, the beginning of the Space Age on Oct. 4, 1957. Paul Dickson has written a compelling account of the epic event that shocked the American public. Sputnik heralded the modern era of transistors and miniature electronic devices, communications satellites and the worldwide Internet.
How could Russia, a nation then considered technologically backward, suddenly propel itself into forefront of world science, scoring a worldwide publicity coup in the process that surprised even its creators?
Dickson's book is one of the best popular books about Sputnik yet published, a tale of challenge, fear and the resulting monumental government program that put the first man on the moon.

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