Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War [Hardcover]

A riveting history of the epic orbital flight that put America back into the space race. [ The perfect book for anyone who wants to read about real life adventures and learn what makes heroes tick ... It will help you understand how some families stay together in the face of existential challenges, how American politics and industrial technology converge, and how the United States won the Cold War competition with the USSR. What a fresh and refreshing look at a familiar subject, now seen through an important geo-political lens rather than a scientific, technological, and nationalistic one. The new context is exciting, the usual characters made more vivid and dimensional. Bravo. I loved this book. From the opening lines, I was rivetedI couldnt put it down. Even though we know the ending, Jeff Shesol somehow creates a cliffhangerimmersive history that lifts us out of the moment were in and transports us to a time of genuine heroes. As this book reveals, John Glennstoic and selfless, but also restless and ambitiousembodies what we hold most dear about being American. If theres such a thing as a white-knuckle read, this is it. But This is a story for the agesthe best account, ever, of the flight of I had the privilege of knowing John Glenn wellI helped select him and train him as an astronautand Jeff Shesol has rendered the most compelling portrait Ive seen of Glenn since the real thing. This gripping book captures the fast pace and high stakes of the space program and shows how Glenn helped win the struggle to surpass the Russians. This book amazed me. It brought back such memories that I felt like I was reliving the events. Entertaining and deeply researched&readers will savor the hair-raising ride. A welcome retelling of a significant piece of the Cold War saga and the opening of the space frontier [and] a good choice for readers interested in the Cold War, the space race, and the 1960s American political landscape. This well-researched and excitingl“+