After Sputnik

On October 4, 1957 in the midst of the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first artificial earth satellite.

For the West, and especially the United States, it was a shattering blow to national morale and pride.

It led to a deep-seated fear that the Soviet Union would surpass the United States in both technology and power and that even nuclear war might be near. 'After Sputnik' shows that the late 1950s were not an era of complacency and smugness, but were some of the most anxious years in American history.

The Cold War was by no means a time of peace. It was an era of a different kind of battle - one that took place in negotiations and in the internal affairs of many countries, but not always on the battlefield.