That stands in sharp contrast to the Soviet program. Although those in it were undoubtedly motivated by science, the Soviet political system viewed the space program as one of almost immeasurable political and propaganda value. While certainly not undercutting the efforts and training of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, Burgess and French take a fairly objective look at her mission and what it reflects about the differences between the two space programs. They also examine how the propaganda aims of the Soviets could cause them to cut corners, such as in the harrowing experience of Alexei Leonov, the first person to walk in space and who had to rely on his own innovation to make it back into the spacecraft.

At the same time, Into That Silent Sea may also remind us of the limits of our steps into space over the years. The goal and accomplishment of the missions explored in the work was putting man into orbit around the Earth and returning him successfully. Yet today manned spaceflight remains limited to Earth orbit. No manned spacecraft has left Earth orbit since the end of the Apollo program 35 years ago. Recent proposals to return to the moon and go on to Mars have met with tepid public support that is far short of the attention given the flights detailed in this book or the lunar program.

The last 40 or so years have produced plenty of histories and memoirs of both the U.S. and Soviet/Russian space programs. Some are great, some are good and some are not so good. In some regards, Into That Silent Sea is unavoidably duplicative of some of those works. It is just the nature of the beast. Regardless, there is undoubted benefit in having authors unassociated with either program examine just how enterprising and daring those early missions were. Many people today seem to view space programs as an extravagance or with disinterest. For those who remain interested in those programs and have read the prior histories and memoirs, it never hurts to be reminded of just how pioneering the first steps were.