← Home
Sputnik orbits the Earth on October 4, 1957, and America panics. Whittle narrates the space race — from Sputnik through Gagarin's flight to Kennedy's moon shot — as the Cold War's most dramatic arena of competition.
Canon
•
Gagarin's flight was terrible luck for America — the Soviets put a man in space first. Kennedy's response — committing to the moon by decade's end — turned that bad luck into the most spectacular achievement in human history.
Highlights
•
Sputnik proved that the arena of competition shapes which talents become valuable
When the Cold War shifted from military to technological competition, scientists and engineers suddenly became more valuable than generals. The arena of competition determines which human capabilities matter most.