First published by NASA in 2000 as Challenge to Apollo (NASA SP 2000-4408), these two volumes are the first comprehensive history of the Soviet-manned space programs covering a period of thirty years, from the end of World War II, when the Soviets captured German rocket technology, to the collapse of their moon program in the mid-1970s.
Also available online from NASA [PDF]

First published by NASA in 2000 as Challenge to Apollo, these two volumes are the first comprehensive history of the Soviet-manned space programs covering a period of thirty years, from the end of World War II, when the Soviets captured German rocket technology, to the collapse of their moon program in the mid-1970s.
Also available online from NASA [PDF]

In March 2005, the NASA History Division and the Division of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum brought together a distinguished group of scholars to consider the state of the discipline of space history. This volume is a collection of essays based on those deliberations.
Also available online from NASA [PDF]

This book on Eisenhower details his contributions to the space race. The author details how Eisenhower approved breakthrough satellites, supported a new civilian space agency, signed a landmark science education law, and fostered improved relations with scientists.

This guide provides a 'Chronology of Events' and a narrative history outlining the key events and people in the progression of space research and activity. Topical essays examine several significant issues related to the politics and technology of space exploration from an international perspective. Primary resources are reprinted in this volume and are organized by theme. Also included are biographical sketches of key people associated with space flight and an annotated bibliography of additional reading.

This collection of essays explores several broad themes: the Soviet Union and Sputnik, space and the international Geophysical Year, the immediate ramifications of Sputnik in the United States, and the significance of Sputnik throughout the world.
Also available online from NASA [PDF]

The Red Rockets' Glare is the first academic study on the birth of the Soviet space program and one of the first social histories of Soviet science. Based on many years of archival research, the book situates the birth of cosmic enthusiasm within the social and cultural upheavals of Russian and Soviet history.
Also available online from NASA [PDF]

The story of the race into space is marked by the greatest superpower rivalries, political paranoia, and technological feats of the twentieth century. Cadbury traces the trajectory of two scientists on opposite sides of the “battle” for the heavens--Wernher von Braun and Russian engineer Sergei Korolev.