Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

"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.

This is actually two books in one,the biographies of astronaut David Scott (Gemini 8, Apollo 9 & 15) and cosomonaut Alexi Leonov (Voskhod 2, Apollo-Soyuz). In my opinion, Leonov's story is the more interesting and well-told of the two because it describes events in the Soviet space program of the 1960s and 70s I've never read before and the language of the ghost writer doesn't detract from the story. Scott's story is rather bland when compared with the excellent Gemini-Apollo astro-biographies of Gene Cernan and Mike Collins. What I did not like about the book was the ghost writer's (Christine Toomey) propencity to write in such strong Britsh language you'd swear Dave Scott was a bloke in an English pub instead of American fighter pilot/astronaut. Additionally, the ghost writer's total unfamiliarity with aviation came through in her writing, making some of tales told in the book rather silly and disappointing (I've been in the Air Force 19 years, four years at the holy of holies, Edwards AFB). Despite these clangers, the book kept my attention and I enjoyed it. It's not the best book on the space race, but neither is it the worst.

"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,") 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.

What if Grant and Lee had written a combined autobiography thirty years after the Civil War? This book has the same effect on telling the story of the competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in space. Each man is frank, easy to understand and allows his personality to show through his story. The concept of a dual autobiography is unique enough, but using this method to describe a key "battle" in the Cold War is pulled off with astounding clarity and smooth transitions between Scott's and Leonov's stories.

I've read almost all the astronaut books ( see my reviews).Christine Toomey the writer has created a fantastic, excellent book 5 stars. She created a well blended group of stories from Astronaut David Scott and Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.

The book reads very well and has some nice pictures. No boring parts, it's a page burner. I read it in 2 1/3 days. We see each man growing up and becoming tops in their profession.

David Scott middle class, graduated West Point and MIT goes into the Air Force. We see him becoming a test pilot at Edwards Air Force base and his experiences with his mentor Chuck Yeager. We see his near death experience with Neil Armstrong in Gemini 8,later Apollo 9 and his moonwalk as commander of Apollo15 and all the great rock samples found and brought back. Plus they had a hell of fun on that rover. Even though Scott did nothing criminally wrong with "Postal Covers" based on Apollo 15, INMO we see his lack of proper judgement to even get involved and allowing NASA to take a black public eye. NASA does not support Scott and hangs him out to dry. As he retires from the Air Force and NASA we see his later business deals and the interesting companies he helped start.

We see my favorite Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov from a large very poor family growing up in the USSR. Even as a small child he had an interest in art and becomes a great space artist. (If I hit the lotto I'd like to buy one of his smaller paintings).Many times Alexei's family was so poor that they had little to eat and Alexei had no shoes to wear.He is so proud one day the government gives out its ration and he gets a new pair of shoes ( girl's shoes but he don't care). We see his acceptance into the military and becoming a test pilot and selected to become a Cosmonaut. We see his good friendship with Yuri Gagarin and others and his friendship with the Supreme Designer head of the USSR spaceflights. We see his success as the first man to do a spacewalk and being selected to be the Russians first man on the moon before their moon manned space program collapses. We see his raise to a 2 star General before being thrown under the bus and forced to military resign by new Russian political leaders. You can tell Alexei is still bitter about that. But man o man Alexei is still a great artist. Have you seen his works? Great!

We also see a little about Mir, Skylab, talk of the ISS, our shuttle system and Russia's shuttle ( had 1 flight.. program scrubbed). We even see Deke Slayton finally getting his ride in the Apollo/Soyuz rendezvous and Slayton's mistake of hitting a thruster and striking the Soyuz. The Russians kept that quite.We see Deke shaking hands with Leonov and the other Russian inside Apollo/ Soyuz. Also the Russians kept it quite that the Americans were almost killed on reentry due to a poisonous gas leak in the spacecraft.

Lots more great stories, well laid out. The book flows back and forth from Scott's and Leonov's views/stories. Great book 5 stars and highly recommended.

this is avery good book.Scott and Leonov are two talented individuals who provide an excellent perspective on their own two countries space programs.If you want a book that describes the details of what the sights are like in outer space,Then this book is not for you.You can try Gene Cernan's"last man on the moon"Or Michael Collins"Carrying the Fire."However,If you want a perspective on the space race from both sides,then this book is for you.It is my favorite book on the space program for that reason.

I went to a Royal Geographic talk in Hong Kong by David Scott. He made a very interesting speaker and spoke of his life as a priveleged American growing up in the space race era. He then spoke about the Russian, Alexei, who was growing up at the same time in Russia who came from a very underpriveleged background and how the two of them met in space. He decided to write the book showing how the two very different upbringings brought them to space at the same time. An outstanding true story that brings its readers up to date with the space race and the cold war. I highly recommend it to all readers, young and old!

It doesn't matter if you are a student of history, a space nut, or just looking for a good story, "Two Sides Of The Moon" has something for everyone. While I confess there are areas I wished contained more detail about some of the missions (Apollo 15), it is still in my opinion one of the finest Cold War/Space Race books ever written. A compelling story about a turbulent time in American and USSR history by the men who made it.