Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Accomplishes a quantum leap in the historical understanding of Soviet space explorations...A monumental accomplishment." -- The Russian Review, July 2004

It is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most important space history books ever published... -- Liftoff, Jan-Feb 2005

Product Description

First published by NASA in 2000 as Challenge to Apollo, these two volumes are the first comprehensive history of the Soviet-manned space programs covering a period of thirty years, from the end of World War II, when the Soviets captured German rocket technology, to the collapse of their moon program in the mid-1970s.

The spectacular Soviet successes of Sputnik--the first Earth satellite (1957) and Yuri Gagarin--the first man in space (1961) shocked U.S. leaders and prompted President John F. Kennedy to set the goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s. The moon race culminated with the historic landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969 (coincidentally the first Soviet unmanned moon probe crashed on its surface while the American astronauts were at Tranquility Base).

The epic story of the Soviet space program remained shrouded in secrecy until the unprecedented opening of top secret documents. Based almost entirely on these Russian-language sources and numerous interviews with veterans, Siddiqi's book breaks through the rumors, hearsay, and speculation that characterized books on the Soviet space program published during the Cold War years. Supplementing the text with dozens of previously classified photographs, he weaves together the technical, political, and personal history of the major Soviet space programs, providing the other side of the history of human space flight.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida; 1st edition (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081302627X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813026275
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #346,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The other side of the space race., February 20, 2004

By	Taras R. Hnatyshyn (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Asif Siddiqi covers the first laps of the space race from the Soviet side. This tome goes deeper than just the hardware by covering some of the personalities involved on the Soviet side of the space industry. If you are interested in the history of early space exploration, this book fills in many of the holes that most Western histories leave unexplored.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a real history book, October 12, 2005

By	G.LAM - See all my reviews

A book where every name ,situation,person is based in facts and books.
A book where author knows his sources and have a clear view of achivments and drawbacks of Soviet space programm
An author who can read Ruusian and have of net contact of the sources
I found the style of language difficult but fluid.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic Sovietic, January 14, 2009

By	Jose C. A. Rodrigues (Sao Paulo, SP BRAZIL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great book, which describes the development the entire Soviet space program, its virtues and flaws!
A great book for those who want to know more background on this issue,
and a true story of what happened behind the "iron curtain"! Apology politics aside, but simply a chronic and very interesting history of this nation!