Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race [Hardcover]

David Scott (Author), Alexei Leonov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2004

Growing up on either side of the Iron Curtain, David Scott and Alexei Leonov experienced very different childhoods but shared the same dream to fly.

Excelling in every area of mental and physical agility, Scott and Leonov became elite fighter pilots and were chosen by their countries' burgeoning space programs to take part in the greatest technological race ever-to land a man on the moon.

In this unique dual autobiography, astronaut Scott and cosmonaut Leonov recount their exceptional lives and careers spent on the cutting edge of science and space exploration. With each mission fraught with perilous risks, and each space program touched by tragedy, these parallel tales of adventure and heroism read like a modern-day thriller. Cutting fast between their differing recollections, this book reveals, in a very personal way, the drama of one of the most ambitious contests ever embarked on by man, set against the conflict that once held the world in suspense: the clash between Russian communism and Western democracy.

Before training to be the USSR's first man on the moon, Leonov became the first man to walk in space. It was a feat that won him a place in history but almost cost him his life. A year later, in 1966, Gemini 8, with David Scott and Neil Armstrong aboard, tumbled out of control across space. Surviving against dramatic odds-a split-second decision by pilot Armstrong saved their lives-they both went on to fly their own lunar missions: Armstrong to command Apollo 11 and become the first man to walk on the moon, and Scott to perform an EVA during the Apollo 9 mission and command the most complex expedition in the history of exploration, Apollo 15. Spending three days on the moon, Scott became the seventh man to walk on its breathtaking surface.

Marking a new age of USA/USSR cooperation, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project brought Scott and Leonov together, finally ending the Cold War silence and building a friendship that would last for decades.

Their courage, passion for exploration, and determination to push themselves to the limit emerge in these memoirs not only through their triumphs but also through their perseverance in times of extraordinary difficulty and danger.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A very valuable account of the way the Cold War was ended in Space."
- Sir Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

About the Author

David Scott is one of twelve men to have walked on the moon. He was born at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, educated at West Point, and received his pilot wings in 1955. He earned two graduate degrees at MIT and completed the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School before being selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1963. He flew three space missions: first as pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966, then as command module pilot on Apollo 9 in 1969, and finally as commander of Apollo 15 in 1971. He was subsequently assigned to the joint USA/USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and from 1973 to 1977 worked as deputy director and director of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. He went on to found two private companies, applying his technological expertise in the arena of commercial space, and has also acted as technical adviser on the film Apollo 13 and Tom Hanks's award-winning series From the Earth to the Moon.

Alexi Leonov was born in Siberia in 1934 and graduated from the Chuguyev Higher Air Force School in the Ukraine in 1957, before serving as a fighter pilot in East Germany in 1959. He was among the first group of cosmonauts selected in 1960 and flew two space missions: first as pilot of Voskhod 2 in 1965 and then in 1975 as commander of Soyuz 19 during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In 1966 he was appointed commander of the lunar training group and would have been the first Soviet cosmonaut on the moon. He became deputy director of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Center and was promoted to the rank of major general. He is currently vice president of Russia's Alpha Bank. Leonov is also an accomplished painter, having exhibited throughout the world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (September 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312308655
• ISBN-13: 978-0312308650
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parallel evolution of two individuals during the space race, May 19, 2005

By 

Ramon Basanta (A Coruna, Galicia, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race (Hardcover)

I bought this book just a month ago while in a business trip and I must admit that my first impression was that the book was a sort of commercial best-seller, rather hollywood-like. So I was not expecting serious really serious content. But the more I read, the more I came to the conclussion it was a really good book.

I had not the kind of tech-focused expectations of Thomas Moody (see useful review above), but I think it is serious enough for the non-tech or specialized public, whithout been arcane. It's rigorous and at the same time, very readable. A real page-turner.

I think that the book is worth the money. Provides a smart picture not only of space race but also of cold war in a wider sense, from a special and interesting point of view.

Overall, the point with the book is that it is based on two different careers and lives, wich brings a richer depiction of the evolution, both professional and personal of this two outstanding men, astronaut and cosmonaut, at the same time that their respective space programs in Soviet Union and USA.

My congratulations to the authors, the journalist, editors and all people involved in the project. A very well balanced approach on how to present the story and how to narrate it. They've got a great result.

I really enjoyed this book.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The moon race from vastly different perspectives..., February 22, 2005

By 

Thomas Moody - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race (Hardcover)

In his seminal work "A Man On the Moon", author Andrew Chaiken describes the quintessenal American astronaut: "Even in a pack of overachievers like the astronaut corps, David Scott stood out. He seemed to have come straight from Central Casting, a six footer with All-American good loooks and built like a decathlon champion. In some circles there was a joke that if NASA ever came out with an astronaut recruiting poster, Scott should be on it." This glowing testament and the providence of being on the most ambitious lunar mission up to that point (Apollo 15) made Dave Scott seem somewhat a hero to young Apollo-crazed 5th grade students like myself (in 1971). That feeling really never went away, so it was with great anticipation that I undertook this dual auto-biography with Alexei Leonov...and the result was mild disappointment. I suppose I expected more in-depth discussion of the technical aspects of Apollo 15 and the training for it, but got a rather pedestrian telling of that mission and the events leading up to it. True, "Two Sides of the Moon" doesn't promise to be a comprehensive account of any particular mission, rather an overlay of two perspectives of the moon race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. If looked at from that perspective, this work is a useful addition to the mountain of literature on the space race...indeed Leonov exposes much new information on the Soviet program that essentially carries this book.

Thrown together for the symbolic Apollo-Soyuz joint mission in 1975, Scott and Leonov established a shaky initial relationship that prospered following the demise of the Soviet Union and this book is the result of the many story-telling sessions that followed. From Sputnik to Gagarin's ground-breaking manned orbital mission and on to the Leonov commanded Apollo-Soyuz, the reader is treated to the beginning of the Soviet Space program, now with the perspective of over 40 years. The successes and failures were surprising revelations to me...as was the leadership and vision of Sergei Korelov, the "Chief Designer" and the true leader of the Soviet program.

The American program, certainly well documented to date, is rather blandly described by Scott...although useful discussions of Gemini 8 (Scott's first mission), Apollo 9 and of course Apollo 15 make the Scott sections worth the read. Again, when compared to Chaiken's work, Scott's first person rendering of his initial training for and prosecution of this fabulous mission lacks much verve and emotion...many humanistic tidbits, like Scott's iron command of the mission and the resulting embarrasment of the "stamp scandal" are given relatively short shrift...for that matter so to is his mission to the Appenine Mountains. Hadley Rille, Mount Hadley and Hadley Delta exploration points were argueably the most scenic and scientifically important (i.e. the Genisis rock) spots that astronauts visited on the moon, but Scott just doesn't get that emotion across. He tries, but I constantly had to reference Chaiken's book to reinforce that grandeur...a real shame.

What does work with this book however is the integration of the two stories and the disclosure of the initial cooperation between the two programs. Many readers, unaware of these details, will surely find this interesting, as did I. The post space program paths that both men took is also interesting and relevant, although some more personal details from Scott would have rounded out the story-line a little better. For example he mentions his former wife Lurton, but does not go into the cause of that break-up...was it the space program that caused it as happened with many of his peers, or something else? Sadly, one gets the impression that both men are rushed to get their story published, so these important details are left out.

Another in a long recent line of biographies of the Apollo program, this work should stand out somewhat as it gives an interesting new perspective of this well-told story. Scott and Leonov are not great story-tellers, but by combining their career stories, the reader is given a useful look at both programs...but with just a little more effort, this could have been so much better.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dueling Autobiographies, November 14, 2006

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race (Hardcover)

"Two Sides of the Moon" is a fascinating addition to the library of any space historian, whether casual or professional. The book, written by American Astronaut Dave Scott and Soviet Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, focuses on personal and professional struggles set within the political framework of the 1960s (and early 1970s) cold war.

Although I would have preferred more technical detail in the book, I still enjoyed it very much though more from the human interest angle. I liked the technique of alternating narratives from the American and Soviet points of view: the book was skillfully written to reveal the emotions and perceptions of both sides of the space race during key points in the race to the moon (Sputnik, the Apollo 1 fire, Apollo 11, etc.) I found both authors to be likable and appreciated their willingness to share credit with people unknown to the general public, from important organizational keys like Bill Tindall's famous (within NASA, anyway) Data Priority Meetings (and their resultant "Tindallgrams," page 194,) to the awe with which Leonov held Sergei Korolev, the Soviet Chief Designer, whose death all but dashed Soviet attempts to land on the moon prior to the Americans.

The book has an upbeat and optimistic tone, and is good-natured throughout. I enjoyed the behind the scenes trivia the pair provided. Did you know that the first animals to achieve circumlunar flight were a pair of Steppe Tortoises on the Soviet Zond-5 mission? The were recovered safe (but probably confused) in the Indian Ocean on September 17, 1968. Little known facts like this made this book a treasure for readers who traditionally focus on the more technical aspects of the missions.

The book boasts an excellent Foreword by Neil Armstrong, Scott's commander from Gemini 8. Scott gives Armstrong ceaseless praise for his judgment during the emergency they shared, and it seems clear that Armstrong holds Scott in equally high esteem.

The book is a great telling of a compelling tale. I particularly found the travails of Leonov's youth to be astounding, and admire him more after reading this book for overcoming them to become one of the great names in spaceflight. Likewise, Scott is a high achiever and role model for generations of spacefarers for generations to come. I recommend this book highly.