USA in Space - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0893560200 ISBN 13: 9780893560201

Publisher: Salem Press, 2001

Synopsis

These three volumes contain 237 concise essays on the major space programmes, crewed and uncrewed missions, satellites, and probes from the earliest missions to the turn of the millennium. All essays included in the first edition have been updated to reflect events.

About this title

From Booklist:

The race for space profoundly influenced U.S. society and continues to fuel our imaginations. The second edition of USA in Space covers the U.S. space program from its inception to the present. The editor revised and updated 196 entries from the first edition (1996) and added 41 new ones. The signed essays, representing the work of scholars and journalists, encompass a wide range of space-related topics, including facilities such as research centers, launch sites, and space stations; missions and programs; and technologies.

Entries are alphabetically arranged and share a common format beginning with title, date(s), and category (type of program, satellite, technology, or socioeconomic or sociopolitical issue), followed by 2,000 to 5,000 words of text in three parts: a summary or overview, a description of knowledge gained, and a discussion placing the topic in context. See also references would enhance the information. An updated, annotated bibliography consisting of secondary sources suitable for general readers and students concludes each entry. Some 350 black-and-white photographs illustrate the text.

Beginning each volume are a table of contents and, new to this edition, a list of abbreviations (handy for decoding technical acronyms) and a list of illustrations. The list of illustrations is arranged by picture caption so that one searches for "Astronaut Alan Shepard" instead of the more intuitive "Shepard, Alan." In the appendix to each volume is an "Alphabetical Index" of essays arranged generally by title (but sometimes by title keyword, e.g., Explorers, atmosphere, not Atmosphere explorers) and a "Categorized Index," which sorts the essays under the various categories, such as "Facility," "Program," and "Socioeconomic/Sociopolitical Issue." Scope notes would be helpful for some categories.

Concluding the third volume are more tools for the reader. An excellent glossary translates technical and scientific terms for the layperson. A "Chronology of the U.S. Space Program" annotates and arranges the essays by year. "Principal Personages in the History of the U.S. Space Program" briefly describes individuals' roles. Page number references to entries are not supplied in these two lists but would be helpful. A notable omission from "Principal Personages" is Yuri Gagarin, given that his colleague Valentina Tereshkova is listed. Following "Principal Personages" is an unannotated, uncategorized listing of Web pages. Most sites were well chosen, but the inclusion of some e-commerce and personal home-page sites calls into question the selection criteria. Three indexes--by entry title, personage, and subject--conclude the set. The "Personages Index" and "Subject Index," both new to this edition, give excellent access to the content of the work, although the user must recognize that persons are not listed in the "Subject Index." Using the set efficiently requires an understanding of the varying levels of access given by the access tools. If one inadvertently looks in the wrong index, information may not be found.

Most libraries would find this set useful. Another work, The Chronological Encyclopedia of Discoveries in Space [RBB S 1 00], provides detailed and livelier coverage of all space missions, domestic and international. These two works complement one another in the collection. REVWR
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About this edition

• Publisher: Salem Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0893560200
• ISBN 13: 9780893560201
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 3