Bébés lune et vrais satellites

Bébés lune et vrais satellites (Notre avenir ?) is a work of popular science written in the weeks following the launch of Sputnik 1 (October 4, 1957), printed on November 9 of that year. In four parts, Philippe Harzer (a pen name of spy novelist Gaston-Claude Petitjean-Darville) traces the history of astronautics pioneers (Oberth, Tsiolkovsky, von Braun), explains the physics of satellites and rockets, describes the Soviet launch through accounts mixing reportage with unverifiable intelligence claims, and speculates on the future of crewed spaceflight and lunar exploration. The book concludes with a geopolitical reflection on the Space Race and the risk of nuclear war.