"In 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite, into orbit, America had barely crossed the starting line of the great Space Race. Later that year, our first attempt was such a failure that the media nicknamed it 'Kaputnik.' Yet the American scientists and engineer refused to give up. WIth each failure, they gleaned valuable information about where they went wrong and how to avoid those mistakes in the future. SO they tried, again and again - failing a little better each time. Neil Armstrong made it look easy when he first set foot on the lunar surface, but America's journey to the moon was anything but simple." -- From the flyleaf.

Introduction: "Failure is not an option" -- It's just rocket science! -- Failure to launch -- Dawn of the atomic age -- Sputnik -- The birth of NASA -- The Mercury Seven -- Project Gemini -- A dangerous rendezvous -- Tragedy -- Apollo -- One small step, one giant leap -- We have a problem -- The final frontier.