The Conquest of Space (Lasser book)
.jpg) First edition | |
| Author | David Lasser |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | nonfiction |
| Publisher | Penguin Press |
Publication date | September 1931 (original)[1] September 1, 2002 |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 978-1-896522-92-0 |
The Conquest of Space is a nonfiction book written by David Lasser in 1930 and self-published in 1931.[2] It was the first book written in English that presented rocketry and spaceflight in a serious manner.[3][4] The book profiles a fictional journey to the Moon to explain the science of rocketry as it stood in 1931.[5] It uses contemporary knowledge on rockets to create a reasonable description of the hardware necessary to make spaceflight possible. The book was out of print until 2002, when it was republished by Apogee Books.[4] As of 2011[update], the book remains in print.
According to the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction, it contains the earliest known use of the word "astrogator", meaning space navigator.[6]
Reception
[edit]The book was generally well received. The New York Times stated on January 10, 1932 that "despite its literary and artistic faults the book cannot but capture the imagination of a reader interested in science."[4] Harold Horton Sheldon wrote the original introduction to the 1931 edition.[7] Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote the introduction to the 2002 edition, said that the book "was one of the turning points in [his] life."[4]
Despite being published in 1931, it "still stands up to scrutiny"[4] for many of its predictions in rocketry. However, other predictions appear to Larry McGlynn as "quaint" and "naive", among them the use of rockets solely for peaceful purposes.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Marine Park, Great Kills" (PDF). AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 18, 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ Lasser, David (2002). The Conquest of Space. Apogee Books. ISBN 978-1-896522-92-0.
- ^ Huurdeman, Anton A. (2003). The worldwide history of telecommunications. Wiley-IEEE. p. 409. ISBN 978-0-471-20505-0. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Lasser, David (2002). The Conquest of Space: Apogee Books Space Series 27. Apogee Books. ISBN 1896522920.
- ^ a b McGlynn, Larry. ""The Conquest of Space" by David Lasser Apogee Books Edition, 2002". collectspace.com. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ "Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction: astrogator". Retrieved 2022-11-14.
- ^ Winter, Frank H. (1983), Prelude to the space age, The Rocket Societies, 1924-1940, p. 76, retrieved November 22, 2015,
As science editor for The New York Tribune, Sheldon was a powerful voice in the promotion of space flight at the time. He also gave his own lectures and wrote the foreword for Lasser's book.