From Germany to the Stars

In the decades preceding World War II, Germans and Austrians had every reason to believe that if anyone were to conquer space it would be them. Few nationalities had made as much progress in rocketry and astronautics in as short a period of time as they had. This confidence and enthusiasm is revealed in these four novels. "The Shot Into Infinity" and its sequel "The Stone From the Moon"---both by Otto Willi Gail---are based scrupulously on the pioneering work of Hermann Oberth and Max Valier...but mixed with the bizarre "World Ice Theory" of Hans Horbiger, a theory which was fated to become one of the many pseudosciences embraced by the Nazis. Otfrid von Hanstein's "Between Earth and Moon" also draws upon Oberth's work in its modern-sounding story of the plight of three astronauts stranded in space and the efforts to rescue them. Finally, "A Daring Flight to Mars" is one of the rare attempts at science fiction by Max Valier. Fully illustrated.