Sublime

The astronauts themselves could be considered pioneers, but none of the ventures into space undertaken by Moscow and Washington were the product of an individualistic gamble of life and fortune. Rather, each was a coordinated diplomatic and military mission, powered by enormous investments of money, time, and latitude for experimentation.

ursine.

"swagger,"

George Melville would serve as the Jeannette’s engineer. Said to be distantly related to the great author, Melville was an improvisational genius with machines—a greasy-fingered savant who seemed most at home among thumping boilers and sharp blasts of steam. The engineer, thirty-eight years old, had a booming voice, a stout physique, and an