James A. Michener has attempted to tell the story of the American space program through fiction, but not all that successfully. The problem may be inherent in the story: It is too contemporary, the real people and events still too familiar, to lend itself to historical novelization in the manner of Mr. Michener's more notable recent books, "Chesapeake" and "Centennial." Great sagas have a mythic quality, and myth takes time to evolve. (p. 3)

The author has, as usual, done his research well. He has also managed to develop through his sprawling narrative all of the major political, social and technological themes that resonated during the years of the first exploration of space. Thus, if "Space" becomes a best seller, as may be expected on the basis of his past record, a wide audience will be exposed to a sympathetic, historically sound treatment of an important human endeavor that...