“Man in Space” by Marvin L. Stone. Nelson Doubleday (1967), published with the cooperation of the “Science Service.”
The book is fully illustrated, features a nicely condensed history of the space program up to 1967, and comes in a 64-page softcover format. The “Science Service” was a nonprofit organization founded in 1921 by journalist E. W. Scripps and zoologist William Emerson Ritter. Its mission was to make scientific knowledge accessible to the public, especially young readers and educators. It later became known as Society for Science, which still publishes “Science News” today. It was deeply involved in promoting science literacy during the Cold War era, when public interest in space and technology surged.
The “Science Program” label on the book refers to a series of educational publications produced in collaboration with Science Service and commercial publishers like Nelson Doubleday. They were not strictly school textbooks, but they were designed to be classroom-friendly and were often used in school libraries, science clubs, and enrichment programs. Many were sold through mail-order book clubs, such as the Science Program Book Club, which offered affordable science books to families and educators.
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The opening paragraph of “Man in Space” is a glorious slice of Cold War-era space enthusiasm. Although exaggerated, it is emotionally honest to its time:
"OUR VAST NEW FRONTIER --All of us living today are witnesses to one of the greatest adventures of this or any other century. Hundreds of years from now historians will be looking back to the 1960s as the most thrilling age of exploration since Columbus led the way across the mysterious 'Ocean Sea' to the New World five centuries ago. This time the frontier is not the ocean, but space . . ."
For a science book aimed at sparking wonder, it’s a powerful opener. It sets the tone not just for factual content, but for a cultural moment when space was a canvas for hope and ambition. While the 1960s were thrilling, historians now view the space race as just one chapter in a much longer story of technological evolution, which includes the digital revolution, genomic mapping, or even deep sea discoveries.
“Man in Space” by Marvin L. Stone. Nelson Doubleday (1967), published with the cooperation of the “Science Service.”
The book is fully illustrated, features a nicely condensed history of the space program up to 1967, and comes in a 64-page softcover format. The “Science Service” was a nonprofit organization founded in 1921 by journalist E. W. Scripps and zoologist William Emerson Ritter. Its mission was to make scientific knowledge accessible to the public, especially young readers and educators. It later became known as Society for Science, which still publishes “Science News” today. It was deeply involved in promoting science literacy during the Cold War era, when public interest in space and technology surged.
The “Science Program” label on the book refers to a series of educational publications produced in collaboration with Science Service and commercial publishers like Nelson Doubleday. They were not strictly school textbooks, but they were designed to be classroom-friendly and were often used in school libraries, science clubs, and enrichment programs. Many were sold through mail-order book clubs, such as the Science Program Book Club, which offered affordable science books to families and educators.
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The opening paragraph of “Man in Space” is a glorious slice of Cold War-era space enthusiasm. Although exaggerated, it is emotionally honest to its time:
"OUR VAST NEW FRONTIER --All of us living today are witnesses to one of the greatest adventures of this or any other century. Hundreds of years from now historians will be looking back to the 1960s as the most thrilling age of exploration since Columbus led the way across the mysterious 'Ocean Sea' to the New World five centuries ago. This time the frontier is not the ocean, but space . . ."
For a science book aimed at sparking wonder, it’s a powerful opener. It sets the tone not just for factual content, but for a cultural moment when space was a canvas for hope and ambition. While the 1960s were thrilling, historians now view the space race as just one chapter in a much longer story of technological evolution, which includes the digital revolution, genomic mapping, or even deep sea discoveries.