Churning through tediously written archival material leaves one open to joy when one reads vigorous, lovely prose, such as this one by a historian of space travel:
Sputnik’s success unleashed an unprecedented orgy of self-laceration and hysteria in the American press, not only because it was so manifestly a technological triumph but because, quite literally overhead, it appeared to leave the United States’ citizens hideously vulnerable to the possibility of other, more unambiguously hostile, Soviet machines that might very soon be coming their way, flying at terrific speeds and unassailable altitudes way above their head.
Walker, Stephen. 2021. Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave our Planet and Journey into Space. William Collins, 52-53.
