China's Space Program - From Conception to Manned Spaceflight [Paperback]

In October 2003 Yang Liwei made history as the first Chinese citizen in space, orbiting the globe 14 times in the Shenzhou 5.  The Chinese space program has sometimes been called the last of the secret space programs. Although it is far less secretive now than formerly, fascinating revelations are still being made. Brian Harvey examines the history of the Chinese space program, from it's earliest times to the historic breakthrough of manned flight.Authors Preface and Acknowledgements.- Flight of the Shenzhou.- Origins - The Fiery Dragon.- Dong Fang Hong - The East is Red.- Expanding the Space Programme.- Communications and Conspiracies.- Applying the Space Programme.- Behind the Scenes.- Launch Centres, rockets and their engines.- Shuguang - False Dawn.- The Shenzhou Precursor Mission.-Future of China in Space.- Listing of Chinese satellite launches.- Milestones in the development of the Chinese Space Programme.- Glossary.- Bibliography, further reading and websites.- Index

From the reviews:

...China's Space Program is perhaps the best single-volume summary of Chinese space efforts, at least among those written in English.

--Jeff Foust, THE SPACE REVIEW

Astronomy (February 2005)

Review by James Oberg, Former NASA Mission Controller

& Harveys book gives any space-flight enthusiast a thorough overview of Chinas space activities while comparing them to other nations efforts. Whats more, Harvey has succeeded in an even greater challenge: collecting disorganized and unrelated information and formulating it into coherent chapters that address themes, activities, and intentions in a lucid, logical sequence. This book goes well beyond cataloging what it covers. It has good stories, too. Harveys description of the early years of the Chinese program, when it was bedeviled by material shortages and political interference, is as dramatic as any other space-developlc+