re: Baxter is a plagiarist
Chaikin wrote a verbose description of the manned missions to the moon.
Baxter has written a verbose description of an alternate history of manned spaceflight
They're GOING to be similar in places.
If Baxter was truely plagerizing Chaikin, then he would, rightly, have been sued for it, and his publishers wouldnt have put it to press.
I find half the charm of Baxters work is that he gives regular nods to the actual course of history whilst describing his alternate course of history. I wouldny want it any other way - it makes it all the more readable.
Doug