Yes, it would be helpful to be a rocket scientist to work through this volume, but Sutton, who has been involved in rocket engines since 1943, has taken care to make this comprehensive history accessible as well as rigorous. He covers the merits of liquid propellant rocket engines and their applications, technology trends and historical changes, technology and hardware, they early years from 1903 to the 1940s when such as Tsiolkowsky, Goddard and Obert dominated, worldwide organizations from 1932 to 2003, liquid propellant rocket engines in the US, the former USSR, and the current Russia and Ukraine programs, and extended reviews of programs in Germany, France, Japan, the UK, the People's Republic of China and India. Sutton provides period photographs and modern illustrations. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)