Frontiers for the American century
Subtitle: outer space, Antarctica, and Cold War nationalism
By: James Spiller
Series: Palgrave studies in the history of science and technology
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2015
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 269
ISBN-13: 9781137507860
Subjects: International Geophysical Year, 1957-1958; Science and state; Government policy; HISTORY / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union; HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century; Scientific expeditions; Discovery and exploration; United States; SCIENCE / History; American; United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Exploration; United States Antarctic Program; Cold War; History; Nationalism; HISTORY / United States / 20th Century
Description: "Frontiers for the American Century compares the cultural politics of the U.S. space and Antarctic programs during the Cold War. It analyzes how culturally salient terms, especially the nationalist motif of the frontier, were used to garner public support for these strategic initiatives and, more generally, United States internationalism during this period"--

"Space and Antarctic exploration were the most dramatic endeavors of the Cold War. Employing the latest science and technology to explore the remaining frontiers, these programs were designed to stimulate an American century of freedom and prosperity for humankind. However, these programs came to represent distinctive aspects of the ideal U.S. leadership of the 'Free World.' Frontiers for the American Century : Outer Space, Antarctica, and Cold War Nationalism by James Spiller explores the cultural politics, nationalism, and history that led these programs to different paths of celestial pioneering and environmental guardianship"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: Polar Stars and Stellar Stripes; title: 1. Rising to the Sputnik Challenge; title: 2. The Space and Antarctic Frontiers; title: 3. Antarctica and the Greening of America; title: 4. The Tenacious Grip of the Space Frontier; title: Conclusion: The End of American Frontier Nationality.