by Jane Briggs-Bunting I had a dream when I was 10 years old and was thrilled when Alan Shepard, in the first manned Mercury Mission, orbited the earth. Okay, we were a […]
Nota Bene #120: Crazy Ivan
“If you can make a woman laugh, you’re seeing the most beautiful thing on God’s earth.” Who said it?
Nota Bene #108: Mm-mm, Time for Pi
“If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.” Who said it?
Nota Bene #101: Your Pal, Mike S.
“The guys who are shooting films now are technically brilliant, but there’s no content in their films. I marvel at what I see and wish I could have done a shot like […]
The First Step

Forty years ago today, Apollo 11 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, heading for the moon. The astronauts would safely achieve orbit and, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong would take his famous […]
Triumph and tragedy: LIFE and the Space Race
Part five in a series. LIFE’s portrayal of the space race represented, in most respects, a logical extension of its war coverage. Many of the space program’s early goals were military in […]