Manned Spaceflight, this exciting addition to the well-estabilished Observer's series, provides a factual reference book which not only informs but entertains. The author, Reginald Turnill, has been covering manned spaceflightsince Yuri Gagarin first soared into orbit in 1961. As the BBC's Air and Defence Correspondent, he has been able to follow in detail the rapid and impressive development of missiles, rockets and spacecraft. His first-hand coverage of every major US spaceflight, from Shepard's first, tentative suborbital 'lob', right through to the historic day when Armstrong first stepped on the moon, and the remarkable lunar exploration mission that followed has provided the facts and descriptions contained in this volume. Since no Westerner has yet been allowed to witness the launch of a Soviet cosmonaut, no similar first-hand accounts are possible of the rival Russian space programme. But all available sources have been stuwdied to provide an equal careful account of Soviet flights. As the Skylab picture on this dust jacket demonstrates, The Observer's Book of Manned Spaceflight also looks ahead, and provides invaluable information about future spaceflights and spacecraft.