Roger Bilstein's Books

Flight in America

From the Wrights to the Astronauts

By: Roger E. Bilstein

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Flight in America

From the Wrights to the Astronauts

By: Roger E. Bilstein

When first published in 1984, Roger Bilstein's Flight in America was widely hailed as the foremost history of what is arguably the most remarkable achievement of the twentieth century--human flight. Now, in this newly revised and expanded edition, Bilstein continues his comprehensive history to the closing decade of the present century and offers a glimpse of developments in the next. "The most comprehensive survey of the history of American aeronautics and space flight yet published."-- Technology and Culture. "Bilstein casts wide and far to net virtually everything from technological trends and research and development to the effect of air travel on the expansion of major league baseball in the 1950s and early 1960s... A superior work that will satisfy aero buffsand professionals alike."-- Journal of American History.

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Page Count

386

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801848288

ISBN 13

9780801848285

Testing Aircraft, Exploring Space

An Illustrated History of NACA and NASA

By: Roger E. Bilstein

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Testing Aircraft, Exploring Space

An Illustrated History of NACA and NASA

By: Roger E. Bilstein

Selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2003 The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics—forerunner of today's NASA—emerged in 1915, when airplanes were curiosities made of wood and canvas and held together with yards of baling wire. At the time an unusual example of government intrusion (and foresight, given the importance of aviation to national military concerns), the committee oversaw the development of wind tunnels, metal fabrication, propeller design, and powerful new high-speed aircraft during the 1920s and '30s. In this richly illustrated account, acclaimed historian of aviation Roger E. Bilstein combines the story of NACA and NASA to provide a fresh look at the agencies, the problems they faced, and the hard work as well as inventive genius of the men and women who found the solutions. NACA research during World War II led to critical advances in U.S. fighter and bomber design and, Bilstein explains, contributed to engineering standards for helicopters. After 1945 the agency's test pilots experimented with jet-powered aircraft, testing both human and technical limits in trying to break the so-called "sound barrier." In October 1958, when the launch of the Soviet Sputnik signaled the beginning of the space race, NACA formed the nucleus of the new National Aeronautics and Space Agency. The new agency's efforts to meet President Kennedy's challenge—safely landing a man on the Moon and returning him to Earth before the end of the 1960s—is one of the great adventure stories of all time. Bilstein goes on to describe NASA's recent planetary and extraplanetary exploration, as well as its less well-known research into the future of aeronautical design.

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Page Count

246

Publisher

JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801871581

ISBN 13

9780801871580

Stages to Saturn

A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles

By: Roger E. Bilstein

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Stages to Saturn

A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles

By: Roger E. Bilstein

A classic study of the development of the Saturn launch vehicle that took Americans to the moon in the 1960s"--Back cover.

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Page Count

540

Publisher

DIANE Publishing Inc.

Published Date

ISBN 10

0160489091

ISBN 13

9780160489099

Reinventing NASA

Human Spaceflight, Bureaucracy, and Politics

By: Roger Handberg

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Reinventing NASA

Human Spaceflight, Bureaucracy, and Politics

By: Roger Handberg

From its beginnings, NASA was convinced that its real mission was to create the opportunity for a much different and better society on Earth, namely through human space flight. Pursuit of such a goal has led the agency to persist in certain activities even when they conflict with the wishes of Congress and the President. Recent changes in the international environment, changes that began well before September 11, 2001, have brought the military back into the field of human space flight, a situation that holds certain hazards for NASA since the military is more powerful politically. Dramatic changes could be in store, changes that could severely damage NASA's capacity for continuing what it sees as its primary objective. While most analyses see the agency as riddled with incompetence, Handberg argues that NASA's troubles are a product of its internal values. He begins with an historical overview of the major themes in NASA's history, followed by chapters on specific areas of concentration, such as the space station, space transportation, space science, and internal reforms. He also discusses the long-term future of the agency and human space flight in general, both domestically and internationally.

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Page Count

292

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0313016135

ISBN 13

9780313016134

To Reach the High Frontier

A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles

By: Roger D. Launius

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To Reach the High Frontier

A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles

By: Roger D. Launius

Most towns did not have hospitals of their own before the mid-twentieth century, and Kentucky towns were no exception. KentuckyÕs first real hospital opened in 1823, but it was in LouisvilleÑtoo far away to serve many Kentucky communities, especially in cases of emergency. For this and other reasons, the lifespan of the average Kentuckian in the 1800s was only 40 years. Today it has grown to 75, and trained medical professionals are available to most communities throughout the state. Healing Kentucky tells how medical care changed in Kentucky over 200 years and became the much safer and better system we know today. It also describes early healing practices and methods used to care for the sick in the days before safe hospitals, even on Civil War battlefields. From cholera epidemics to polio and plastic surgery, readers will learn much about the people who shaped medicine in Kentucky.

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Page Count

542

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813127211

ISBN 13

9780813127217

Everyday Modifications for your MGF and TF

By: Roger Parker

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Everyday Modifications for your MGF and TF

By: Roger Parker

The books in the Everyday Modifications series from Crowood are designed to guide classic car owners through the workshop skills needed to make their cars easier to use and enjoy. MG expert Roger Parker offers his advice on a range of modifications and changes that can be applied to the MGF and MG TF, which will enhance the practical daily use of the cars. With important and specific safety information and advice throughout, the book also covers: body and interior changes; brake, suspension and steering upgrades; wheel and tyre options; powertrain upgrades; electrical system upgrade options and finally, setting up and specific maintenance aspects. Illustrated with over 450 images, this is a valuable technical resource for the MGF and TF owner.

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Page Count

534

Publisher

The Crowood Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1785004301

ISBN 13

9781785004308

Flight Patterns

Trends of Aeronautical Development in the United States, 1918-1929

By: Roger E. Bilstein,Roger Bilstein

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Flight Patterns

Trends of Aeronautical Development in the United States, 1918-1929

By: Roger E. Bilstein,Roger Bilstein

From 1918 to 1929 American aviation progressed through the pioneering era, establishing the pattern of its impact on national security, commerce and industry, communication, travel, geography, and international relations. In America, as well as on a global basis, society experienced a dramatic transformation from a two-dimensional world to a three-dimensional one. By 1929 aviation was poised at the threshold of a new epoch. Covering both military and civil aviation trends, Roger Bilstein's study highlights these developments, explaining how the pattern of aviation activities in the 1920s is reflected through succeeding decades. At the same time, the author discusses the social, economic, and political ramifications of this robust new technology. Aviation histories usually pay little attention to aeronautical images as an aspect of popular culture. Thoughtful observers of the 1920s such as Stuart Chase and Heywood Broun considered aircraft to be an encouraging example of the new technology-workmanlike, efficient, and graceful, perhaps representing a new spirit of international good will. Flight Patterns is particularly useful for its discussion of both economic and cultural factors, treating them as integrated elements of the evolving air age.

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Page Count

266

Publisher

University of Georgia Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0820332143

ISBN 13

9780820332147

MGF and TF Restoration Manual

By: Roger Parker

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MGF and TF Restoration Manual

By: Roger Parker

MGF and TF Restoration Manual provides the MGF or TF owner with a complete workshop guide to mechanical and body restoration for the cars. With the MGF in production between 1995 and 2001, and the MG TF until 2011, many of the cars have survived in a structurally and mechanically sound state, without the huge costs and complications of needing a complete body restoration that is so often the case with pre-1980 MGs.Topics covered include: Model overview and parts supply; Workshop safety information; Bodywork [external and subframes]; Trim [including hood problems and replacement]; All mechanical components [including head gasket replacement]; Electrical systems [including security systems]; Modification [cosmetic, mechanical and engine]. An essential and practical workshop guide for all owners of these attractive sports cars.Gives instructions on minor repair and maintenance procedures and covers a full engine strip and rebuild.Covers workshop safety information, bodywork, trim, all mechanical components and much, much more.Features a number of different project cars.Superbly illustrated with approximately 1000 colour step-by-step photographs.Roger Parker is an acknowledged MGF and TS expert with years of restoration experience.

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Page Count

870

Publisher

Crowood

Published Date

ISBN 10

1847975399

ISBN 13

9781847975393

Robots in Space

Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel

By: Roger D. Launius,Howard E. McCurdy

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Robots in Space

Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel

By: Roger D. Launius,Howard E. McCurdy

2008 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Magazine Given the near incomprehensible enormity of the universe, it appears almost inevitable that humankind will one day find a planet that appears to be much like the Earth. This discovery will no doubt reignite the lure of interplanetary travel. Will we be up to the task? And, given our limited resources, biological constraints, and the general hostility of space, what shape should we expect such expeditions to take? In Robots in Space, Roger Launius and Howard McCurdy tackle these seemingly fanciful questions with rigorous scholarship and disciplined imagination, jumping comfortably among the worlds of rocketry, engineering, public policy, and science fantasy to expound upon the possibilities and improbabilities involved in trekking across the Milky Way and beyond. They survey the literature—fictional as well as academic studies; outline the progress of space programs in the United States and other nations; and assess the current state of affairs to offer a conclusion startling only to those who haven't spent time with Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke: to traverse the cosmos, humans must embrace and entwine themselves with advanced robotic technologies. Their discussion is as entertaining as it is edifying and their assertions are as sound as they are fantastical. Rather than asking us to suspend disbelief, Robots in Space demands that we accept facts as they evolve.

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Page Count

334

Publisher

JHU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801887089

ISBN 13

9780801887086

Milestones of Space

Eleven Iconic Objects from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

By: Curators of the National Air and Space Museum,David DeVorkin,Hunter Hollins,Thomas Lassman,Roger Launius,Stuart Leslie

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Milestones of Space

Eleven Iconic Objects from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

By: Curators of the National Air and Space Museum,David DeVorkin,Hunter Hollins,Thomas Lassman,Roger Launius,Stuart Leslie

In Milestones of Space, Michael Neufeld and select curators of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum present a gorgeous illustrated celebration of the groundbreaking spacecraft that gave humanity its first steps into the cosmos.

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Page Count

179

Publisher

Zenith Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0760344442

ISBN 13

9780760344446

The Practice of Politics in Postcolonial Brazil

Porto Alegre, 1845-1895

By: Roger A. Kittleson

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The Practice of Politics in Postcolonial Brazil

Porto Alegre, 1845-1895

By: Roger A. Kittleson

The Practice of Politics in Postcolonial Brazil traces the history of high and low politics in nineteenth-century Brazil from the vantage point of the provincial capital of Porto Alegre. In the immediate postcolonial period, new ideas about citizenship and freedom were developing, and elites struggled for control of the state as the lower classes sought inclusion in political life. In a shift from the Liberal Party to Positivist or Conservative rule during the bloody Federalist Revolt of 1893-1895, new leaders sought to bring about a more balanced structure of government where the capitalist was sympathetic to the worker, and the worker more passive toward the elite. This represented a complete change of opinions—a new regime of ideas. Termed a "scientific" approach by its proponents, the movement was based on historical process and would be brought about through civic education. Against the backdrop of the abolition of slavery and subsequent assimilation, the rise of European immigration, and industrialization, Kittleson investigates how "the people" shaped changing political ideologies and practices, and how through local struggles and changes in elite ideology, the lower classes in Porto Alegre won limited political inclusion that was denied elsewhere.

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Page Count

281

Publisher

University of Pittsburgh Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0822972891

ISBN 13

9780822972891

Reconsidering Sputnik

Forty Years Since the Soviet Satellite

By: Roger D. Launius

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Reconsidering Sputnik

Forty Years Since the Soviet Satellite

By: Roger D. Launius

This book explores Russia's stunning success of ushering in the space age by launching Sputnik and beating the United States into space. It also examines the formation of NASA, the race for human exploration of the moon, the reality of global satellite communications, and a new generation of scientific spacecraft that began exploring the universe. An introductory essay by Pulitzer Prize winner Walter A. McDougall sets the context for Sputnik and its significance at the end of the twentieth century.

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Page Count

468

Publisher

Psychology Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

9057026236

ISBN 13

9789057026232

Reaching for the Moon

By: Roger D. Launius

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Reaching for the Moon

By: Roger D. Launius

Fifty years after the Moon landing, a new history of the space race explores the lives of both Soviet and American engineers At the dawn of the space age, technological breakthroughs in Earth orbit flight were both breathtaking feats of ingenuity and disturbances to a delicate global balance of power. In this short book, aerospace historian Roger D. Launius concisely and engagingly explores the driving force of this era: the race to the Moon. Beginning with the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 and closing with the end of the Apollo program in 1972, Launius examines how early space exploration blurred the lines between military and civilian activities, and how key actions led to space firsts as well as crushing failures. Launius places American and Soviet programs on equal footing--following American aerospace engineers Wernher von Braun and Robert Gilruth, their Soviet counterparts Sergei Korolev and Valentin Glushko, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov--to highlight key actions that led to various successes, failures, and ultimately the American Moon landing.

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Page Count

256

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

030023046X

ISBN 13

9780300230468

Apollo's Legacy

Perspectives on the Moon Landings

By: Roger D. Launius

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Apollo's Legacy

Perspectives on the Moon Landings

By: Roger D. Launius

An all-encompassing look at the history and enduring impact of the Apollo space program In Apollo's Legacy, space historian Roger D. Launius explores the many-faceted stories told about the meaning of the Apollo program and how it forever altered American society. The Apollo missions marked the first time human beings left Earth's orbit and visited another world, and thus they loom large in our collective memory. Many have detailed the exciting events of the Apollo program, but Launius offers unique insight into its legacy as seen through multiple perspectives. He surveys a wide range of viewpoints and narratives, both positive and negative, surrounding the program. These include the argument that Apollo epitomizes American technological--and political--progress; technological and scientific advances garnered from the program; critiques from both sides of the political spectrum about the program's expenses; and even conspiracy theories and denials of the program's very existence. Throughout the book, Launius weaves in stories from important moments in Apollo's history to draw readers into his analysis. Apollo's Legacy is a must-read for space buffs interested in new angles on a beloved cultural moment and those seeking a historic perspective on the Apollo program.

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Page Count

295

Publisher

Smithsonian Institution

Published Date

ISBN 10

1588346528

ISBN 13

9781588346520

Transportation and the American People

By: H. Roger Grant

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Transportation and the American People

By: H. Roger Grant

This “outstanding contribution to transportation history” chronicles the evolution of American mobility from stagecoaches to buses and airplanes (Choice). Transportation is the unsung hero of American history. Stagecoaches, waterways, canals, railways, busses, and airplanes revolutionized much more than just the way people got around; they transformed the economic, political, and social aspects of everyday life. In Transportation and the American People, renowned historian H. Roger Grant tells the story of American transportation from its slow, uncomfortable, and often dangerous beginnings to the speed and comfort of travel today. Early advances like stagecoaches and canals allowed traders, businesses, and industries to expand across the nation, setting the stage for modern developments like transcontinental railways and busses that would forever reshape the continent. Grant provides a compelling and thoroughly researched narrative of the social history of travel, shining a light on the role transportation played in shaping the country as well as the people who helped build it.

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