This book is hilarious. Franken makes mincemeat of his "enemies" on the political right, but through it all what emerges is someone with a serious belief in American patriotism and truth.
Richard Rhodes' DARK SUN: THE MAKING OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB
Yikes, this is a scary book. I had either never known or had forgotten about the awfulness of the times when huge proportions of our GNP were devoted to developing strategic weapons and the means to deliver them.
Walter A. McDougall's THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH: A POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE SPACE AGE
This 1985 book by Walter A. McDougall is a real eye opener, especially if all you know about the early space program is the famous excerpt from John F. Kennedy’s speech