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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

Robert H. Goddard was an American physicist and rocket expert who in 1926 designed and built the world's first liquid fuel rocket. His later inventions included the first smokeless powder rocket, the first automatic steering device for rockets, and he was one of the first to develop a general theory of rocket action. A father of American space research, he enjoyed little fame in his lifetime and he suffered many heartbreaking failures, but his story is superly told in this, a major biography of a 20th-century pioneer of science.

(Extracted from the back cover).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Introduction to the Da Capo Edition. Frederick C. Durant, III.

-Contents.

-Illustrations.

-Preface. Charles A. Lindbergh.

-1- The Cherry Tree.

-2- If There's No Law Against It.

-3- One-Dream Man.

-4- A Method of Reaching.

-5- How is Your Moon-Going Rocket?

-6- Little Dog With a Great Big Bone.

-7- High Lonesome.

-8- A Matter of Time.

-9- Gallant Emprise.

-10- The Hope of Today.

-11- I Was Wondering When You'd Ask Me.

-12- The Reality of Tomorrow.

-13- Never an End.

-14- Later.

-Sources and Acknowledgments:

-A. Note on Primary Sources and Method.
-B. Supplementary Reading List.
-C. Photographs and Diagrams.
-D. Special Acknowledgments.

-Index.

OUR REVIEW

Lehman's work was originally published in 1963 with the title The High Man: The Life of Robert H. Goddard. In this occasion, Da Capo has republished it with the addition of an introduction written by Fred Durant. Since this is the biography of one of the great Americans in this century, this book still is highly valid, above all because in 1996 it's been 70 years since Goddard launched the first liquid fuel rocket in the world, the predecessor to all the current ones as well as those that one day took us to the Moon. The reading of this book should therefore be compulsory for everyone who wants to remember such mythical events, as well as amateur readers interested in the history of science.

As could be expected, Goddard's life is truly fascinating, worthy of being remembered. His existence was punctuated by disillusionment, failures, and incomprehension, yet at the same time he experienced an overall success in his initiatives. His introverted, closed, lonesome character prevented him from benefiting from the work done by other research groups as well as speeding up the rhythm of his progress, although this fact precisely highlights what he achieved despite all this all the more. His history, then, is one of a continuous search for the financing of his projects, the constant improvements in his designs, the development of each and every one of the systems in his rockets from scratch, etc. Although he lived to see what the Germans had done in the field of missiles during World War II, he didn't get to contemplate what would have filled him with joy, namely the conquest of space by Mankind, an achievement that only some other pioneers such as Oberth, thanks to his longevity, were able to witness.

Milton Lehman realized a wonderful job with this book. In spite of the time that has elapsed since its first edition, his narrative continues to be as fresh and attractive, ideal for those readers who are not interested in the technical details of the inventions of a character so clearly related to the avant-garde science. Besides, the biography of Goddard is full of human teachings, sensibility and a hope for the future.