Histoire mondiale de l'astronautique

The first comprehensive popular history of astronautics, published in 1966 by two key figures in the American space program, this volume traces the human story of space exploration from its mythical and literary origins through the ongoing Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. The narrative unfolds in broad chronological stages: from Chinese medieval rockets to nineteenth-century war rockets, from the theoretical pioneers (Tsiolkovsky, Goddard, Oberth) to the arsenals of the Second World War, and from the Sputnik satellites to the first crewed Soviet and American missions.

The coverage is notably balanced: Soviet contributions (from Tsiolkovsky to Gagarin) receive as thorough a treatment as the American programs, a remarkable stance for a 1966 American publication. The iconographic apparatus, developed by illustrator Harry H.-K. Lange with the aid of extensive archival documentation, constitutes an essential part of the work, making it as much a visual atlas as a historical narrative.

Prefaced by French physicist Pierre Auger and introduced by Frederick C. Durant III of the Smithsonian Institution, the book closes with a section on the emerging legal framework for space exploration and a substantial bibliography. The French translation by Thomas de Galiana, published by Larousse and Paris-Match, brought this synthesis to French-language readers at the very moment when the race to the Moon was entering its decisive phase.