The Race to the Moon Chronicled in Stamps, Postcards, and Postmarks: A Story of Puffery vs. the Pragmatic (Springer Praxis Books)
Brand: Springer
Categories: Books, New, Used & Rental Textbooks, Humanities



Dimensions: 6.61 x 0.8 x 9.45 inches
Language: English
ISBN-10: 3319921525
Publisher: Springer
Print length: 349 pages
Publication date: October 12, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-3319921525
Edition: 1st ed. 2018
subtitle: 1st ed. 2018 Edition
author: Umberto Cavallaro
review: Editorial Reviews Review “This book … covers a thriving field of space memorabilia collection derived from a practical commercial application, i.e. sending letters. … Even space aficionados otherwise immune to the joys of philately will be fascinated to find their favourite history can be traced from Sputnik to Apollo by way of stamps … .” (Mark Williamson , Room, Vol. 20 (2), June, 2019) “It is also a beautiful, softbound edition with almost all of its illustrations in full colour and will make a valuable addition to any collector’s library. … this information will be interesting to collectors of space-related philatelics who might be wondering what they are seeing (and not seeing) on their Moon-race-era philatelic collectibles. Umberto’s book provides examples of these Moon-race era commemorative stamps, special cancels, and covers that help illustrate many of the spaceflight events that he discusses in the text.” (Jim Reichman, Orbit, January, 2019) “This handsome book reads like a novel and brings several seldom know facts about this Race to the Moon, especially marked on gray print in the book.” (Cosmo Express, Vol. 223 (4), 2018) From the Back Cover The story of the famed race to the Moon between the US and the USSR has been told countless times. The strategies of these two superpowers have often been paralleled in a way that highlights their fight for dominance and efforts to develop needed new technologies. This book will show how beneath these surface similarities, the two competing nations employed very different core tactics. It provides a new perspective of the history of the space race by analyzing that history through philately - that is, from the images on postage stamps, post cards, and letters in circulation at that time. Through this fascinating historical visual record, the author shows how the propaganda-heavy approach of the USSR eventually lost out to the more pragmatic approach of the United States. About the Author Umberto Cavallaro is founder and current president of AS.IT.AF (Italian Astrophilately Society), as well as the editor of its quarterly journal, AD*ASTRA. His professional activity led him to cooperate for many years with ESA, the European Space Agency. Author of “ Propaganda e Pragmatismo in gara per la conquista della Luna ” (“ Propaganda & Pragmatism in race to the Moon ” Impremix, Torino 2011) and “ Donne nello Spazio ” (“Women inSpace”, Mursia, Milano 2015), he has translated into Italian several publications, including “ The All-American Boys ” by Walter Cunningham, an Apollo VII astronaut. Read more