Customer Reviews

Starman

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I had first heard about this book through watching the associated BBC TV program in a short series called "Reputations". It examined the myths and realities behind the personalities of some of the world's best-known figures. The book turns out to be an eye-opening account of a quite ordinary man, fated to be feted the world over for having achieved the world's first (and, indeed, shortest) orbital flight by a human being, only to find himself unable to live the life expected of him - as well as the victim of utter jealousy within the highest levels of the Kremlin in the USSR in the 1960s.

Gagarin had no pedigree whatsoever, yet the distinct lack of it made him perfect for the Communist idea that anyone, no matter how humble, had the opportunity to rise to new heights (in his case, quite literally, albeit briefly) within a so-called egalitarian society, which, as the First Cosmonaut (as he was known) found out to his cost, was nothing of the kind.

Born in 1934, Gagarin entered training as a foundry-man at the age of 16, and it was then that he discovered a new love - flying. His first flight was on board an old Yak-18 trainer, and that made quite an impact on him. In 1953, he was accepted for pilot training in the Soviet air force and he later met and married his wife, Valentina, a nurse. It was when he had been posted to Nikel, a base near the Arctic Circle, that he was asked questions by some mysterious doctors. Within a few weeks, he and a host of other fighter pilots underwent a series of utterly demanding physical tests until eventually he and 19 others were declared the Soviet Union's first cosmonauts.

Insights into the "smiling farm-boy's" personality can be gained from his colleagues, such as the man who just might have been the first in space, Gherman Titov (who has since passed away). Titov and Gagarin, like the others, came under the scrutiny of the Chief Designer, Sergei Korolev, and the general in command of training, Nikolai Kamanin. Titov claims that he himself never actually had any chance of being first because of the Politburo's insistence that an ordinary peasant's son rather than a teacher's son (as he was) be first. Hence, Gagarin being first was more a political decision, even if both were equally ready in all other respects to be first. However grudgingly, Titov admits, "You know, they were right to choose [Gagarin]. The public loved [him]. Me, they couldn't love." It would therefore appear that the powers-that-be were also looking at Gagarin beyond the space flight, namely as an ambassador for the USSR.

The historic space flight aboard what was a converted nuclear missile is described by the authors in a fairly routine way, with the flight terminating in a field fairly near where Gagarin had his Yak-18 flight years before. Even as he landed, he made an impact with his personality, assuring the locals that he was not an American spy, since Gary Powers had been shot down in his U-2 spy-plane just 11 months before, much to the delight of then President Nikita Khrushchev.

Even if Gagarin's life is described against the backdrop of the trials and tribulations of the early Soviet space program, more is made of what made the man tick. He was very much the favorite of Khrushchev, who was seen by many, including Kamanin, as nothing more than "a pigmy" compared to Stalin. Old Stalinists still filled the ranks of the Politburo, and many within it resented Gagarin's closeness to Khrushchev. After all, Gagarin was only a 27 year old who had made one space flight - so what?

Kamanin himself lamented the fact that Gagarin's excessive drinking and partying led to a crop of embarrassing incidents, including one in the resort of Foros in the Crimea where the cosmonaut was almost caught by his wife kissing a nurse; he decided on a somewhat rash action - jump out of the window - and this resulted in serious injury. "Gagarin was just a hair's breadth away from a silly death," the general noted in his diary, a much-cited source in this book.

The clearest insight yet into Gagarin's troubled personality comes from his former KGB escort and advisor, Venyamin Russayev, who saw how it gradually broke down after Khrushchev was ousted by Brezhnev. "In Soviet society," Russayev explains, "it was not a question of who was who, but who belonged to whom. Gagarin belonged to Khrushchev, and that was enough to finish his career in his lifetime." Gagarin became especially grief-stricken after the Politburo refused to cancel the launch of the first Soyuz spacecraft even if at least 200 technical faults still plagued it. Brezhnev ordered the launch to go ahead, and this resulted in the death of its pilot. Gagarin's close friend, Vladimir Komarov, knew before the launch that he would die, yet he himself refused to refuse to fly simply because that would mean Gagarin flying - and dying - instead.

Gagarin had been due to fly in the next Soyuz, but he was then permanently banned from space flight after Komarov's death. 14 months later, Gagarin was himself dead after crashing his jet trainer after failing to pull out of a dive. Even now, the circumstances surrounding his death are shrouded in mystery, if only because nobody could be seen to cause the death of the First Cosmonaut, even if the actual evidence allegedly still exists but is locked away.

Nevertheless, in spite of dying at the age of only 34, Yuri Gagarin had made his mark in world history and he is still remembered today as a man, albeit a troubled and flawed one who made mistakes, who lived his life with decency and honor, even if he was by no means perfect. Gagarin himself once said at a press conference, "I'm a mere mortal. I've made mistakes." Nevertheless, the legend of Yuri Gagarin remains unshakable in Russia, if only because he is seen as very much a "victim" of the authoritarian Politburo, which, according to rumors which still persist, engineered his death, even if the authors reject the "conspiracy theories" which abound even to this day.

An American edition has been released, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, and some sections of the book have ignited a media firestorm that has even upset the Russians as they prepare to honor Gagarin.

But the flap is peripheral to the book itself, which I found to be a well researched and well written treatment of one human being who was the focal point of humanity's breakout into space. I wholeheartedly recommend it for yourself or family members with even only a vague interest in the subject.

The authors bring up some new material from recently published memoirs from people who have yet to be accepted by space historians [including myself], and perhaps that reluctance is prudent -- time will tell, since there are still deep secrets in Moscow archives that we are not allowed to see, that could knock our socks off. This controversial material of profoundly uncertain reliability is treated fairly by the authors and cautious readers will not be misled.

For telling an old story in a grand new way, for taking advantage of the hindsight that several decades now allows, and for integrating material only recently reaching the public, this book has earned respect.

The general American public knows so little about the Russian space program that all of this information will be new. The author gained the trust of Gagarin's wife and friends and in some cases gained access to information and stories that have never been officially revealed. This book left me thirsting for more.

This is truly a great book. I knew nothing about the soviet space program and by the end of the book I felt like an expert. This book goes very in depth not only into the life of Yuri Gagarin, but also the lives, personalities, governments, and programs that surrounded him.

Highly recommended.

I have read about the Soviet space program and something of the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, but almost everything I read ended with something like "... but Gagarin would end up dying in an airplane accident in 1968." As the authors make clear there was more to the story than that.

Yuri Gagarin was from a simple peasant family and he himself became fascinated with flight at an early age. He became one of the Soviet pilots screened from the armed forces to become a cosmonaut, one of thousands of men interviewed and tested for a purpose they would not be told until they had a small number of candidates. Out of the original group of candidates it would come down to Titov and Gagarin and at the last minute (almost) just down to Gagarin.

As the first man in space Gagarin became a celebrity in the USSR (something almost unheard of) and even around the world. He was an optimist, a positive person but the pressures of being Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space started to wear down Yuri Gagarin, Soviet Air Force officer. His life ended tragically flying an old (even by Soviet standards) MiG trainer and the exact circumstances have never been explained to all concerned.

An interesting discussion of an icon of the Space Race Era. The authors wrote this in a very engaging style and the topic really came alive for me.

I really enjoyed this book and discovering more about the first man in space, Russia, and the inside look into a once hidden and secretive world. As always it seems people are very much the same the world over, but goverments get in the way and divide us on so many levels.

The book is very well researched and written and is definitely not a boring history book.

I remember when the first man in space was announced. I was captivated 12 year old and wanted all the details. Back in 1961 you couldn't get even the most extraordinary specifics. Now, finally,this remarkable book conveys everything I always wondered about and more.....
EXCELLENT!

Good Book. Detailed the triumphs and tribulations of the Vostok space program as well as the life of Yuri Gagarin. From his youth fighting Nazis through his global celebration as the first human in space to his embarassing downfall; the authors spent a great deal of work interviewing friends, family and researching once secret archives for their fine work.

I enjoyed reading this book because it brought Gagarin to life in a way that honors him for his heroic accomplishment as the first man in space as well as his likeable qualities that people adored, even as a child. It provided a good balance of his personal and professional life while adding a lot of interesting notes about the early Soviet space program and political environment too. I would have preferred more information about his personal life and more photos. My only disappointment was that there was little said of the dogs that had gone up into space before him, most of them surviving and returning to ordinary lives. I was happy to learn that he and others were honored with a plaque left on the moon by our astronauts. The book ends with a bittersweet feeling, but it's very appropriate. The authors did a great job. Another book similar to this one in terms of human triumph intertwined with historical content is The Longest Day by C. Ryan about the Normandy Invasion.

I was looking forward to reading this but was ultimately disappointed. The writing is not really very good and it lacks any sense of tension or drama. Gagarin does come off as a remarkable individual. Overall this is not a strong version of what must have been a highly dynamic time.