Books › La course aux étoiles
La course aux étoiles
First published 1984 · 888 pages
A sweeping, multi-perspective epic that captures the breathless ambition and daring of humanity's reach for the stars.
What it feels like
Reading this novel feels like watching a monumental era of human history unfold from the ground up. It is a steady, expansive epic that weaves together the relentless drive of engineers, the political maneuvering of senators, and the sheer awe of astronauts facing the unknown. The mood is both tense and triumphant, grounded in the gritty realities of mid-century global politics—including the complex legacies of former conflicts—while constantly reaching toward the breathless wonder of the cosmos. The prose acts as a grand chronicler, balancing intimate personal crusades with the staggering scale of interplanetary exploration. It is a deeply earnest and ambitious reading experience, perfect for those who love sprawling narratives that celebrate the daring spirit of the final frontier.
- Mood
- awe-inspiring
- triumphant
- tense
- expansive
- Tone
- epic
- earnest
- ambitious
- reverent
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the drive for knowledge · human ambition · the frontier spirit · technological destiny · political crusades
- The writing
- Sweeping and chronicler-like, weaving multiple historical and personal threads into a grand tapestry.
- The arc
- Moves from the grounded ambition of earthly politics and engineering to the breathless awe of confronting the final frontier.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sprawling, multi-perspective historical fiction that captures the monumental scale of human achievement.
Content notes
- war themes
- references to Nazism
About the book
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.
Description from Open Library.
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