Our "American Girl" of horses, each novel in the Breyer Horse Collection—based on Breyer Animal Creations' top-selling horse breeds—tells a compelling story that captures the true essence and personality of each horse. And now, for the first time, we have a historical novel. Annie Wedekind takes us back to Europe in World War II—a time and place that tested the courage of the noble Lipizzaner horses. In 1930's Austria, life for Favory Mercurio, a Lipizzaner stallion bearing the crest of the renowned Piber stud, begins with his mother's abandonment. From that moment on, the young horse feels different, as if he has a missing piece— even though, despite his doubters, he has talent enough to be accepted into the famed Spanish Riding School. Slowly, but doggedly, Mercury perseveres through the rigors of his years of training. But then, as the war bears down on Vienna and the school is forced to flee two advancing armies, his beloved trainer and rider, Max, with whom he has formed a true bond, is suddenly gone, and Mercury is abandoned once more. Will he have the chance to become one of the great Lipizzaner stallions, or will he lose the people, horses, and home that he loves?

Flight to Mercury

Space exploration has fascinated us since the launch of the first primitive rockets more than 3,000 years ago, and it continues to fascinate us today. The data gathered from such exploration has been hugely instrumental in furthering our understanding of our universe and our world. In Space Flight: History, Technology, and Operations, author Lance K. Erickson offers a comprehensive look at the history of space exploration, the technology that makes it possible, and the continued efforts that promise to carry us into the future. Space Flight goes through the history of space exploration, from the earliest sub-orbital and orbital missions to today's deep-space probes, to provide a close look at past and present projects, then turns its attention to programs being planned today and to the significance of future exploration. Focusing on research data gleaned from these exploration programs, the book's historical perspective highlights the progression of our scientific understanding of both the smallest and largest entities in our universe, from subatomic particles, to distant stars, planets, and galaxies. Both the novice and the advanced student of space exploration stand to profit from the author's engaging and insightful discussion.

A riveting history of the epic orbital flight that put America back into the space race. If the United States couldn’t catch up to the Soviets in space, how could it compete with them on Earth? That was the question facing John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War—a perilous time when the Soviet Union built the wall in Berlin, tested nuclear bombs more destructive than any in history, and beat the United States to every major milestone in space. The race to the heavens seemed a race for survival—and America was losing. On February 20, 1962, when John Glenn blasted into orbit aboard Friendship 7, his mission was not only to circle the planet; it was to calm the fears of the free world and renew America’s sense of self-belief. Mercury Rising re-creates the tension and excitement of a flight that shifted the momentum of the space race and put the United States on the path to the moon. Drawing on new archival sources, personal interviews, and previously unpublished notes by Glenn himself, Mercury Rising reveals how the astronaut’s heroics lifted the nation’s hopes in what Kennedy called the "hour of maximum danger."

For readers of The Astronaut Wives Club, The Mercury 13 reveals the little-known true story of the remarkable women who trained for NASA space flight. In 1961, just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hopes of becoming America’s first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests at the legendary Lovelace Foundation as did the Mercury 7 astronauts, but they were summarily dismissed by the boys’ club at NASA and on Capitol Hill. The USSR sent its first woman into space in 1963; the United States did not follow suit for another twenty years. For the first time, Martha Ackmann tells the story of the dramatic events surrounding these thirteen remarkable women, all crackerjack pilots and patriots who sometimes sacrificed jobs and marriages for a chance to participate in America’s space race against the Soviet Union. In addition to talking extensively to these women, Ackmann interviewed Chuck Yeager, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, and others at NASA and in the White House with firsthand knowledge of the program, and includes here never-before-seen photographs of the Mercury 13 passing their Lovelace tests. Despite the crushing disappointment of watching their dreams being derailed, the Mercury 13 went on to extraordinary achievement in their lives: Jerrie Cobb, who began flying when she was so small she had to sit on pillows to see out of the cockpit, dedicated her life to flying solo missions to the Amazon rain forest; Wally Funk, who talked her way into the Lovelace trials, went on to become one of the first female FAA investigators; Janey Hart, mother of eight and, at age forty, the oldest astronaut candidate, had the political savvy to steer the women through congressional hearings and later helped found the National Organization for Women. A provocative tribute to these extraordinary women, The Mercury 13 is an unforgettable story of determination, resilience, and inextinguishable hope.