A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey

In "The Space Race," Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael D'Antonio vividly chronicles the chaotic first year of the competition to explore space, sparked by the Soviet launch of Sputnik I in October 1957. The U.S. response involved a frenzied scramble marked by military missteps and political intrigue, as President Eisenhower sought to steer the space program away from military control. Drawing from a wealth of archives, interviews, and film footage, D'Antonio captures the urgency and eccentricity of this pivotal moment in history, leading to America's ultimate achievement of sending a monkey named Gordo into orbit.