Petersen's Book of Man In Space
Here we have a series of "books" (they look, feel, and read more like magazines) published by Petersen Publishing Company, which cover space exploration from its arguable beginnings in the early 1900's through the time of publication in 1974. There were at least five volumes, of which we have:
- #1: The First Small Step; Russia's Sputnik/America's Vanguard
- #3: The Power and the Glory; Liftoff of the mighty Saturn V
- #5: Beyond the Threshold; Earthrise seen from lunar orbit
Pictured at left is Volume One, to which we are a tad partial since it is the one that touches on the space dogs. The caption for the cover is:
"As Sputnik I (inset) orbits the earth, America's first attempt to launch an artificial satellite collapses in a fiery explosion on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, December 6, 1957. A stunned United States subsequently joins the race into space in earnest. Photos: UPI, Tass from Sovfoto. Cover design by Pat Taketa."
The image on the right is a scan of the inside of the front cover; the caption reads:
"Nations from around the world commemorate the efforts of the United States and the Soviet Union in space exploration with postage stamps (From the collection of Kurt Raymond Hall"
For more images from Volume One, as well as excerpted text about the Soviet Space program, please refer the the LIAbrary article on Petersen's Book of Man in Space.