Conceptually, this book goes where dozens of earlier books have gone before; Over the familiar ground from the German V-2 program of WWII to the triumphant landing of Apollo 11 on the moon in 1969. Adding yet *another* book on the Space Race to the already towering pile demands a fresh, new approach that Hardesty and Eisman ultimately fail to deliver. The stories they tell are familiar, the narrative choices uninspired, and the side-by-side comparison of the US and Soviet programs underdeveloped. Tom Crouch did a better introductory survey of the subject in "Aiming for the Stars," and David Scott and Alexei Leonov did the parallel-stories structure better in "Two Sides of the Moon."

"Epic Rivalry" has its moments (some unfamiliar photographs, and well-handled histories of Cape Canaveral and Baikonour Cosmodrome) but these are overwhelmed by the essential dullness of the enterprise. Hardesty and Eisman have exciting material to work with, but they tell it in the most perfunctory of ways, as if all the vivid characters and high tension had been leached out. This is an adequate introductory survey, but no more than that. Anyone truly interested in the subject would be better served by other books. ( )

This would probably be a decent introduction to the subject for a novice, but I've read enough about the space program that there wasn't anything new to me in the discussion of the American program. The Russian bits were more interesting, but insufficiently in-depth; I guess I need to find a book focusing on that, instead. ( )

Overall I felt that the book, “The Epic Rivalry”, was a decent exposition of the events of the Space Race. However, I do have some reservations about the book. First, the introduction to the book seems to serve to not only introduce the book but explain why it is the way it is. The book should explain that throughout its pages it should not have to be given an excuse by the authors. Second, the book in the form at which I encountered it suffers at the outset from some choppy prose, which makes it hard to get started on what turns out to be an informative and interesting discussion of the Space Race. Another problem with the first portion of the book is how long it takes to simply arrive at the first chapter; in a 280 page book the first 30 should not be introduction, foreword and prologue. Again it feels like the authors are providing too much setup when the books first chapter should serve as such.
Third, is the tedious juxtaposition of the USSR vs US in the Space Race. I would have found it more palatable had the US been presented then the USSR presented with a few chapters in conclusion to compare the two. Though the book adequately covers the history of the Space Race it is a bit awkward in its presentation. Readers are forced to search for photos relevant to the chapters they are reading, the photos should be more carefully integrated into the chapters in which they are relevant since the visuals trying to be evoked by the authors would often be improved with the addition of an actual picture. Finally, I found the overall flow of this book was severely hampered by the features between the chapters, while informative and interesting they often move the reader off the progression of the books story rather then give them additional information, they may be better suited for being shortened and placed within the chapters themselves.
As I said I did enjoy the book overall but it is far from the best book I have encountered in my desire to learn more about the Space Race. Frankly I have had dry and technical textbooks that grabbed my attention more then this book. If you are looking for a quick and easy read to learn about the Space Race I would not be able to recommend this book, unless all you care about is the comparison between the two programs with none of the background for the reasoning and origin of either paths of the programs. ( )

pedestrian history. no frills. no thrills. no storytelling. just the facts. unexciting facts. textbook history. the best parts of the book were the pages of explaination of the some of the complex physics necessary to put humans in orbit. these were simple, clear, and inspired. the rest of the book was dull and uninspiring. if you need a chronological history of the space race this is the book. if you want insight, anyalsis, or storytelling look elsewhere. the book is listed as young adult literature, but I think even young adults would find it boring. becuase it is a National Geographic book the selection of pictures is excellent. recent books published by National Geographic have been very well done. this one doesn't measure up. ( )

I've made a point of keeping this one within arm's reach. If I'm making pancakes on a weekend morning, why not learn a bit about America's pre-NASA space program at the same time? If I'm grilling a rack of turkey burgers, perhaps the blue flames will put me in the perfect mood to read all about Dr. Von Braun and his rocketing aspirations?

After all, this is a National Geographic book. I had a subscription to National Geographic World for most of my pre-teen and teen years. And my parents would buy me these bi-monthly hardback books, large and in-color and full of information about inventions or nature or computers or robots. Most of my nascent trivia knowledge can be traced most likely back to one of those National Geographic volumes.

However, I think I'm ready to call it a day on Epic Rivalry. The writing is well-meaning, but cloudy. The American side of the race is treated cursorily and off-handedly, as if the reader is supposed to have already heard most of the stories previously. For those rare times when an event is really something spectacular, the authors quote from Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff instead of attempting their own narrative. The Soviet side of the race is presented as some Great Journey of Mystery. All of the Soviet scientists might as well be presented with wizard hats and magic wands.

(Okay, that was hyperbole ...)

All in all, Epic Rivalry is a decent book, but it deserved to be an even better one. ( )