Key NASA History Web Sites
Interdependence of Archivists, Records Managers, and Historians
A Select Sampling of Model NASA History Publications
Tips on Writing an Unsolicited Proposal
How a Manuscript Becomes a NASA History Publication

A Select Sampling of Model NASA History Publications

Bilstein, Roger E., Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles (NASA SP-4206, 1980, reprinted in 1996). One of the best early volumes covering a specific program in the NASA History Series, this is a good model for the history of technology. The author does an excellent job of making technical information clear to the nonspecialist without oversimplifying a complex story.

Butrica, Andrew J., To See the Unseen: A History of Planetary Radar Astronomy (NASA SP-4218, 1996). This publication is somewhat unusual for two reasons: It covers a history of NASA science (rather than a history of technology) topic, and the author deliberately chose to cover a relatively obscure topic that he felt was significant for larger reasons. The result was a well-crafted book that won a prestigious award from a national historical association.

Hansen, James R., Enchanted Rendezvous: John C. Houbolt and the Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept (Monographs in Aerospace History, No. 4, 1995). This relatively short monograph illustrates that history is not predetermined and that people’s individual choices matter. The author explains how NASA was faced with three basic technical options to put astronauts on the Moon in the 1960s and how a “lone individual” helped push his bosses at NASA to make the decision that turned out to be the most effective.

Lambright, W. Henry, Powering Apollo: James E. Webb of NASA (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press New Series in NASA History, 1995). This biography of NASA’s second Administrator takes a personal approach to history and overall proves the familiar, yet often forgotten, point that NASA’s people are more important than the technologies or science it produces. Webb was not a scientist or an engineer; he considered himself a manager. Webb’s political acumen and focus on management rather than technology or science per se were key factors in the success of the Apollo program.

Launius, Roger D., and Howard E. McCurdy, editors, Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership (University of Illinois Press, 1997). This book was the product of a symposium and features seven chapters with sharp analyses by leading historians. One of the most noteworthy aspects of this book is that it challenges some common misperceptions about the nature of spaceflight that enthusiasts often hold. Specifically, it makes a compelling argument that presidents have not typically viewed spaceflight as an inherently valuable activity and thus have subjected it to the politicization common to virtually all other public-policy areas.

Mack, Pamela E., editor, From Engineering Science to Big Science: The NACA and NASA Collier Trophy Research Project Winners (NASA SP-4219, 1998). This edited volume is a good introduction to the breadth of aerospace research activities in which NASA and its predecessor organization have engaged for almost a century. Each chapter describes a different project—some familiar and some more obscure—from the Apollo 11 mission to the Transonic Wind Tunnel. Although each chapter can stand on its own as a short case study, the editor has also done a good job of pulling together some key narrative themes throughout the volume.

Siddiqi, Asif A., Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945–1974 (NASA SP-2000-4408). This very large volume has been highly acclaimed for its extensive coverage of vast areas of material that were previously only treated superficially. The author mined vast troves of Russian-language materials and carefully referenced these sources. In addition to his excellent historical research, Siddiqi also constructed a well-written narrative that makes some important points about the nature of Soviet aerospace efforts.

Swanson, Glen E., editor, “Before This Decade is Out . . .” Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program (NASA SP-4223, 1999). This is an edited collection of fourteen oral histories related to Project Apollo in various ways. It includes interesting and insightful excerpts from interviews with famous figures such as Wernher von Braun and Gene Kranz; astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Charlie Duke; and administrators, scientists, and engineers such as Robert Gilruth and Max Faget. This oral history collection does not contain historical analysis per se, but it is well edited and informative. It won an award from the Society for History in the Federal Government.

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