Authors:
- Draws attention to some little known and previously unexamined historical sources from the time of the Cold War
- Includes many high resolution images and illustrations that immerse the reader in the propaganda of the period
- Presents as a compelling narrative that follows the actions of key players from both countries
Part of the book series: Springer Praxis Books (PRAXIS)
Part of the book sub series: Space Exploration (SPACEE)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
The story of the famed race to the Moon between the US and the USSR has been told countless times. The strategies of these two superpowers have often been paralleled in a way that highlights their fight for dominance and efforts to develop needed new technologies. This book will show how beneath these surface similarities, the two competing nations employed very different core tactics. It provides a new perspective of the history of the space race by analyzing that history through philately - that is, from the images on postage stamps, post cards, and letters in circulation at that time. Through this fascinating historical visual record, the author shows how the propaganda-heavy approach of the USSR eventually lost out to the more pragmatic approach of the United States.
Reviews
“This book … covers a thriving field of space memorabilia collection derived from a practical commercial application, i.e. sending letters. … Even space aficionados otherwise immune to the joys of philately will be fascinated to find their favourite history can be traced from Sputnik to Apollo by way of stamps … .” (Mark Williamson, Room, Vol. 20 (2), June, 2019)
“It is also a beautiful, softbound edition with almost all of its illustrations in full colour and will make a valuable addition to any collector’s library. … this information will be interesting to collectors ofspace-related philatelics who might be wondering what they are seeing (and not seeing) on their Moon-race-era philatelic collectibles. Umberto’s book provides examples of these Moon-race era commemorative stamps, special cancels, and covers that help illustrate many of the spaceflight events that he discusses in the text.” (Jim Reichman, Orbit, January, 2019)
“This handsome book reads like a novel and brings several seldom know facts about this Race to the Moon, especially marked on gray print in the book.” (Cosmo Express, Vol. 223 (4), 2018)
Authors and Affiliations
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Italian Astrophilately Society, Villarbasse, Italy
Umberto Cavallaro
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Race to the Moon Chronicled in Stamps, Postcards, and Postmarks
Book Subtitle: A Story of Puffery vs. the Pragmatic
Authors: Umberto Cavallaro
Series Title: Springer Praxis Books
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92153-2
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-92152-5Published: 12 October 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-92153-2Published: 05 October 2018
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 338
Number of Illustrations: 30 b/w illustrations, 233 illustrations in colour
Additional Information: Original Italian edition published by Edizioni Visual Grafika, Torino, 2011
Topics: Popular Science in Astronomy, Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Exploration and Astronautics), Popular Science in History, Russian, Soviet, and East European History, US History