Breaking the Chains of Gravity

The Story of Spaceflight Before NASA

By: Amy Shira Teitel

Narrated by: Amy Shira Teitel

Bloomsbury presents Breaking the Chains of Gravity written and read by Amy Shira Teitel.

The incredible story of spaceflight before the establishment of NASA.

NASA’s history is a familiar story, one that typically peaks with Neil Armstrong taking his small step on the Moon in 1969. But America’s space agency wasn’t created in a vacuum. It was assembled from pre-existing parts, drawing together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer.

In the 1930s, rockets were all the rage in Germany, the focus both of scientists hoping to fly into space and of the German armed forces, looking to circumvent the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. One of the key figures in this period was Wernher von Braun, an engineer who designed the rockets that became the devastating V-2. As the war came to its chaotic conclusion, von Braun escaped from the ruins of Nazi Germany, and was taken to America where he began developing missiles for the US Army. Meanwhile, the US Air Force was looking ahead to a time when men would fly in space, and test pilots like Neil Armstrong were flying cutting-edge, rocket-powered aircraft in the thin upper atmosphere.

Breaking the Chains of Gravity tells the story of America’s nascent space program, its scientific advances, its personalities and the rivalries it caused between the various arms of the US military. At this point getting a man in space became a national imperative, leading to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, otherwise known as NASA.©2022 Amy Shira Teitel (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

The intellectual, high from just being on the same room with all these great people.

I love the accuracy and all the history behind us space flight if you have any interest in spaceflight or the history behind it, 

A great exploration of early rocketry

A great exploration of early rocketry. It was very informative. The narration by the author was excellent as well. I really enjoyed this.

I have listened to the other version...

I have listened to the other version not narrated by Amy. While not finished this time, I am enjoying this telling by Amy much more than the other narrator.
An excellent story well told!

The knowledge and excitement of the author

A wonderful pre - NASA timeline and despite the author stating some programs would be glanced over that was not apparent at all. Highly recommend it!

Great research, Distracting pronunciation

The author has done a great job with researching the topic and bringing it to life. The narration is excellent with one exception... she keeps using, or attempting, German pronunciation for German words and abbreviations. As an English speaker, it's very hard to know what she's saying when she does this. It's very distracting. She should have pronounced the words and abbreviations in the way the intended audience would naturally pronounce them .... English speakers. I'm only part way into the recording. I may have to return it and read the book instead, as the pronunciation issue makes this hard to listen to.