This book focuses on the Interkosmos program, which was formed in 1967, marking a fundamentally new era of cooperation by socialist countries, led by the Soviet Union, in the study and exploration of space. The chapters shed light on the space program that was at that time a prime outlet for the Soviet Union's aims at becoming a world power.Interkosmos was a highly publicized Russian space program that rapidly became a significant propaganda tool for the Soviet Union in the waning ...

In January 1959, ten experienced young skiers set out for Mount Otorten in the far north of Russia. While one of the skiers fell ill and returned., the remaining nine lost their way and ended up on another mountain slope known as Kholat Syakhl (or ' Mountain of the Dead'). On the night of 1 February 1959 something or someone caused the skiers to flee their tent in such terror that they used knives to slash their way out. Search parties were sent out and their bodi...

"Magnificent . . . [It] has managed not only to fill in the missing pieces of Ho's life but to provide the best account of Ho as a diplomat and a strategist." — The New York Times Book ReviewA New York Times Notable BookA Los Angeles Times Best Book of the YearTo grasp the complicated causes and co...

This book is a collection of "there I was" stories highlighting the experiences of Canadian Forces pilots who have had the opportunity of a lifetime to fly in the combat aircraft operated by former adversaries. Technical descriptions of key Soviet-built fighter jets such as the MiG-15, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-29, Sukhoi Su-22 and Su-27 are included for general reference.The Canadian Fighter pilots mentioned in the story have generously provided their observations and comments o...

The incredible story of spaceflight before the establishment of NASA.NASA's history is a familiar story, one that typically peaks with Neil Armstrong taking his small step on the Moon in 1969. But America's space agency wasn't created in a vacuum. It was assembled from pre-existing parts, drawing together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer.In the 1930s, rockets were all the rage in Germany, the focus both of scientists hoping to fly in...

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person in history to leave the Earth's atmosphere and venture into space. His flight aboard a Russian Vostok rocket lasted only 108 minutes, but at the end of it he had become the most famous man in the world. Back on the ground, his smiling face captured the hearts of millions around the globe. Film stars, politicians and pop stars from Europe to Japan, India to the United States vied with each other to shake his hand.Despite this i...

In Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) the author reflects Hos life, his good and bad relations with the Big Five, and his influence in the Third World countries and his place in the Vietnam history. Some interesting comparisons are seen in this book. The author writes it with all his historic impartiality in the hope of helping the future generations have the right knowledge of their country s historic events which are compared to the rain. Facing it people have different feelings. It is up to their ...

Bill Yenne brings to life the untold story of Lidiya Vladimirovna, Russia's World War II flying ace, who lit up the skies over Germany and Russia while flying 66 combat missionsOf all the major air forces that were engaged in the war, only the Red Air Force had units comprised specifically of women. Initially the Red Air Force maintained an all-male policy among its combat pilots. However, as the apparently invincible German juggernaut sliced through Soviet defense...

From the author of ‘Seven Wonders of the Industrial World’, the ebook edition of the TV tie-in charting the shocking but true story behind the space race – and the ruthless, brilliant scientists who fuelled it.With the end of the Cold War it is now possible to reveal its generation of secrets and cover-ups, bringing an historical opportunity: the unmasking of the true heroes and villains behind the race to be the first to conquer space.This is one of the greatest stories in...

While most historians of the Vietnam War focus on the origins of U.S. involvement and the Americanization of the conflict, Lien-Hang T. Nguyen examines the international context in which North Vietnamese leaders pursued the war and American intervention ended. This riveting narrative takes the reader from the marshy swamps of the Mekong Delta to the bomb-saturated Red River Delta, from the corridors of power in Hanoi and Saigon to the Nixon White House, and from the peace negotiations in P...

A fully objective, balanced description and appraisal of the air battles over the hotly-contested airspace above the North Korea-China border, with enlightening discussion of the relative merits of each type.As the routed North Korean People's Army (NKPA) withdrew into the mountainous reaches of their country and the People's Republic of China (PRC) funneled in its massive infantry formations in preparation for a momentous counter-offensive, both lacked adequate ai...

It was all part of man's greatest adventure--landing men on the Moon and sending a rover to Mars, finally seeing the edge of the universe and the birth of stars, and launching planetary explorers across the solar system to Neptune and beyond.The ancient dream of breaking gravity's hold and taking to space became a reality only because of the intense cold-war rivalry between the superpowers, with towering geniuses like Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolyov shelving dreams of space t...