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

Title:

Author:

Summary:

"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.

Edition:

First edition.

Contents:

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.

Physical Description:

400 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Personal Subject:

Glenn, John, 1921-2016.

Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963-Influence.

Corporate Subject:

Project Mercury (U.S.)

Friendship 7 (Spacecraft)

Subject Term:

Space flights.

Space race.

Astronautics and state -- History -- 20th century.

Publisher:

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,

Publication Date:

2021

ISBN:

9781324003243

Publication Information:

New York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., [2021]

Call Number:

629.45 SHESOL

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003505933	Adult Nonfiction	629.45 SHESOL	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

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 perilous time when the Soviet Union built the wall in Berlin, tested nuclear bombs more destructive than any in history, and beat the United States to every major milestone in space. The race to the heavens seemed a race for survival--and America was losing.

On February 20, 1962, when John Glenn blasted into orbit aboard Friendship 7, his mission was not only to circle the planet; it was to calm the fears of the free world and renew America's sense of self-belief. Mercury Rising re-creates the tension and excitement of a flight that shifted the momentum of the space race and put the United States on the path to the moon. Drawing on new archival sources, personal interviews, and previously unpublished notes by Glenn himself, Mercury Rising reveals how the astronaut's heroics lifted the nation's hopes in what Kennedy called the "hour of maximum danger."

Author Notes

Jeff Shesol is the author of Supreme Power and Mutual Contempt, both selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. He is a former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and is a founding partner of West Wing Writers.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Historian Shesol (Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court) recreates in this entertaining and deeply researched account the early days of the U.S. space program, culminating with astronaut John Glenn becoming the first American to orbit Earth in February 1962. Shesol sketches Glenn's childhood in New Concord, Ohio; service as a fighter pilot in WWII and Korea; and breaking of the transcontinental speed record in 1957. One of seven "astronaut volunteers" selected for Project Mercury, Glenn served as backup to Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom for the first suborbital flights before being picked for the Friendship 7 mission to orbit Earth. Shesol provides plenty of historical and political context, including the Soviet Union's early lead in the space race, the Bay of Pigs, and escalating tensions in Berlin and Southeast Asia, but the book achieves liftoff in its extended depiction of Glenn's nearly five-hour flight, vividly recreating his perspective ("As the sun began to set, it seemed to flatten into the horizon, almost to melt, pooling liquid light across the curve of the Earth") and documenting fears that a technical issue would cause his capsule to burn up on reentry into the atmosphere. Readers will savor the hair-raising ride. (June)

Introduction	p. 1
Chapter 1 The Nearest to Heaven I Will Ever Get	p. 7
Chapter 2 Supersonic	p. 23
Chapter 3 Red Moonlight	p. 38
Chapter 4 Zero G	p. 55
Chapter 5 A Seven-Sided Coin	p. 72
Chapter 6 Second in Space	p. 93
Chapter 7 Suspended Animation	p. 108
Chapter 8 The Problems of Men on Earth	p. 125
Chapter 9 The First Man	p. 142
Chapter 10 Go or No Go	p. 164
Chapter 11 Holocaust or Humiliation	p. 183
Chapter 12 Talking Our Extinction to Death	p. 199
Chapter 13 Contingencies	p. 214
Chapter 14 The Big Scrub	p. 233
Chapter 15 Godspeed, John Glenn	p. 253
Chapter 16 A Real Fireball	p. 270
Chapter 17 The Big Lift	p. 291
Epilogue Escape Velocity	p. 316
Acknowledgments	p. 327
Notes	p. 333
Bibliography	p. 377
Illustration Credits	p. 385
Index	p. 387

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Table of Contents