- *Space Warriors: The Untold Story of the Men Who Helped Win the Space Race* (1991)
- *Out of the Cold: The Return of the American-Soviet Space Alliance* (1992)
- *Edge of Failure: NASA and the Rise and Fall of the Shuttle Program* (2001)
- *In the Shadow of the Moon: America and the Loss of the Race for Space* (2003)
- *Ask Not: The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy* (2004)
- *Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon* (2006)
- *To the Stars: Inside the First NASA Lunar Missions* (2010)
- *The American Mission: JFK and the Space Program: A Photographic History* (2011)
- *John Glenn: A Memoir* (2012)
- *Moon Rush: The Inside Story of the New Space Race* (2015)
- *Countdown: 30 Days to Launch the Moon Rocket* (2022)
Articles and essays:
- "The Space Race: A Cultural Retrospective" (1991)
- "From Sputnik to Apollo: The Great Space Race" (1992)
- "The Legacy of the Space Race" (1994)
- "The Future of Space Exploration" (1996)
- "The Space Race and the Cold War" (2000)
- "The Impact of the Space Race on American Society" (2002)
- "The Space Race and the Global Economy" (2004)
- "The Space Race and the Scientific Revolution" (2006)
- "The Space Race and the Arts" (2008)
- "The Space Race and the Environment" (2010)
Other:
- Co-producer, The Space Race (1997)
- Documentary writer, To the Moon and Beyond (2002)