Race to the Stratosphere: Manned Scientific Ballooning in America [Hardcover]

David H. DeVorkin (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 419 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (June 6, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387969535
• ISBN-13: 978-0387969534
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,193,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The first space race, in exhausting detail, February 13, 2004

By 

M. A Michaud "michael_michaud" (Dulles, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Race to the Stratosphere: Manned Scientific Ballooning in America (Hardcover)

This historical study examines in great detail the history of high-altitude ballooning during the 1920's and 1930's, with epilogues about the Forties and Fifties. DeVorkin compares these competitive efforts to the early years of the Space Race. Unfortunately, he focuses so much on the details of bureaucratic and scientific in-fighting that the adventurous aspects of the story get lost. This would have been a more interesting book if the author had told us more about the actual flights, particularly dramatic moments such as the bailout from the record breaking flight that was interrupted by a shredding balloon. DeVorkin mentions but does not describe the ultimate balloon trip, when an Air Force officer stepped out of a capsule 25 miles up and parachuted to safety. Numerous black and white photos are reproduced in the book, most of them of scientists and other personalities involved in this competition. Authoritative, but dull.