Space: A Novel

Engineer Stanley Mott, astronomy student John Pope, naval hero Norman Grant, and rocket engineer Dieter Kolff serve as principals in the forty-year history of America's space program and share the complex drama with numerous others
Already a renowned chronicler of the epic events of world history, James A. Michener tackles the most ambitious subject of his career: space, the last great frontier. This astounding novel brings to life the dreams and daring of countless men and women—people like Stanley Mott, the engineer whose irrepressible drive for knowledge places him at the center of the American exploration effort; Norman Grant, the war hero and U.S. senator who takes his personal battle not only to a nation, but to the heavens; Dieter Kolff, a German rocket scientist who once worked for the Nazis; Randy Claggett, the astronaut who meets his destiny on a mission to the far side of the moon; and Cynthia Rhee, the reporter whose determined crusade brings their story to a breathless world.Praise for Space“A master storyteller . . . Michener, by any standards, is a phenomenon. Spaceis one of his best books.”—The Wall Street Journal“A novel of very high adventure . . . a sympathetic, historically sound treatment of an important human endeavor that someday could be the stuff of myth, told here with gripping effect.”—The New York Times Book Review“Space is everything that Michener fans have come to expect. Without question, the space program’s dramatic dimensions provide the stuff of great fiction.”—BusinessWeek“Michener is eloquent in describing the actual flights into space, as well as the blazing, apocalyptic re-entry of the shuttle into earth’s atmosphere.”—The New York TimesFrom the Paperback edition.