The First Golden Age Of Rocketry : Congreve and Hale rockets of the nineteenth century [Hardcover]

Frank H. Winter (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 418 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian (June 17, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874749875
• ISBN-13: 978-0874749878
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,377,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Hale and Congreve rockets RULED!, October 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The First Golden Age Of Rocketry : Congreve and Hale rockets of the nineteenth century (Hardcover)

This book discusses the development of powder war rockets during the 18th and 19th centuries and their use. A curious footnote to military history, the problems involved with such rockets and the increasing lethality and accuracy of conventional artillery overshadowed them and led to the termination of their use . . . until 20th Century technology improved rocketry. A great book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent history, November 17, 2007

By 

James D. Crabtree "Doc Crabtree" (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The First Golden Age Of Rocketry : Congreve and Hale rockets of the nineteenth century (Hardcover)

This book truly lays out the origins of military rocketry, from its beginnings in India to adaptation in Europe by Congreve to the invention of the Hale rocket. A fascinating book, the First Golden Age pulls no punches when it comes to the technical limitations of rockets (which were so great as to preclude them from replacing tube artilley) or the problems arising from their use. However, the book also has fascinating stories about how they were employed, how entire British ships were converted over as launch pads and other interesting facts. The book is also full of technical details on the most common rockets. A fascinating read, it should be part of any artilleryman's library.