The Race

Indispensable to anyone interested in the space race.--Houston Chronicle. In 1963 a young reporter for Time-Life named James Schefter was given a dream job: cover America''s race to the moon.Since the astronauts were under contract to Life for their stories Schefter was given complete access to the biggest players at NASA.But at the time his primary role was to excite the public about the new expensive experimental space program and he couldn''t write about everything he saw.In The Race he does.. From drunken astronaut escapades to near disasters to ferocious political battles the race to the moon was anything but the smooth process it appeared.There were vicious fights between the engineers feuds and practical jokes near-fatal accidents and dozens of brave smart and colorful characters pulling off the greatest exploration in the history of humankind. Like Undaunted Courage and D-Day this is a tale of achieving the extraordinary against extraordinary odds.As incredible as the official story of the space program is the true behind-the-scenes tale is more thrilling more entertaining and ultimately more ennobling.