PROJECT VANGUARD by Stehling, K. R. reviewed by Frederick I. Ordway III

From The Space Library

PROJECT VANGUARD

by Stehling, K. R.

Garden City (New York), 1961: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 312 pages, $4.50

This is the most authoritative and accurate (.because of when it was written) of the several books to appear on the ill-fated space carrier and satellite vehicle program called Vanguard. Written by one of the top engineers associated with the project, it provides a surprisingly well-balanced account of the background and developments that led to the orbiting of three small Earth satellites. The writing style is easy-flowing and often amusing and colorful. In reading it one learns much more than dry facts on a space age product: the pages are full of details concerning the often ludicrous interactions between industry and government, the hundreds of virtually useless meetings and committees that characterize the modern way of handling projects, and the strong meaning of politics in science and engineering.

Extracted from the 1962 Publication Annotated Bibliography of Space Science and Technology with an Astronomical Supplement - A History of Astronautical Book Literature 1931 - 1961. by Frederick I. Ordway III