Menasha Public Library (Elisha D. Smith)

Mercury rising, John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the new battleground of the Cold War, Jeff Shesol

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-384) and index

platesillustrations

index present

non fiction

Mercury rising

bibliography

1250391344

Jeff Shesol

John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the new battleground of the Cold War

"A riveting history of the momentous Friendship 7 space flight that put America back into the space race. If the United States couldn't catch up to the Soviets in space, how could it compete with them on Earth? That was the question facing John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War-a moment when the Soviet Union built the wall in Berlin, tested nuclear bombs more destructive than any in history, and beat the US to every major milestone in space. The race to the heavens seemed a race for survival-and America was losing. When John Glenn blasted into orbit on February 20, 1962, his mission was greater than circling Earth; it was to calm the fears of the free world and renew America's sense of self-belief. Mercury Rising re-creates the sense of tension to a flight that riveted the world. Drawing on new sources, interviews, and Glenn's personal notes, Mercury Rising shows how the astronaut's heroics lifted the nation's hopes in what Kennedy called the "hour of maximum danger.""--, Provided by publisher

Introduction -- The nearest to heaven I will ever get -- Supersonic -- Red moonlight -- Zero G -- A seven-sided coin -- Second in space -- Suspended animation -- The problems of men on Earth -- The first man -- Go or no go -- Holocaust or humiliation -- Talking our extinction to death -- Contingencies -- The big scrub -- Godspeed, John Glenn -- A real fireball -- The big lift -- Escape velocity

adult

John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the new battleground of the Cold War