Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond (Springer Praxis Books)

This book systematically covers Europe's various space programs. An introductory chapter covers the early pioneers like von Oberth and the German rocket program in WW2. The bulk of the book is about the European organisations ESRO, ELDO and ESA, with plenty of space for the national space programmes as well. It tells the story on both the political and the technical level, showing how and why ESRO and ELDO failed and how this sowed the seeds for ESA's success. It covers rocket programs (e.g. Blue Streak and Europa, Ariane), satellites both scientific and commercial, and Europe's contribution to manned programs (e.g. Spacelab, Hermes, EuroMir).It's densely packed with facts and figures, but well-written enough to be engrossing. This book is the most comprehensive treatment of Europe's space programs I've seen. Its only drawback is that the illustrations are grayscale photos that haven't been very well reproduced; on some photos features are lost in darkness or noise.

Excellent