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Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race | 
| Authors: David Scott, Alexei Leonov
Creators: Tom Hanks, Neil Armstrong
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $3.83
You Save: $13.12 (77%)
New (15) Used (19) from $3.56
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 533621
Media: Paperback
Pages: 448
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0312308663
Dewey Decimal Number: 509
EAN: 9780312308667
ASIN: 0312308663
Publication Date: February 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In this unique dual autobiography, astronaut David Scott and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov recount their exceptional lives and careers spent on the cutting edge of science and space exploration. 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 communism and Western democracy.Through the men+s memoirs, their courage emerges from their perseverance in times of extraordinary difficulty and danger.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Leonov the word artist February 21, 2009
M. Harriott (London, UK)
James Oberg has done a thorough job...Google 'Random Notes on Leonov's Side of the Moon - for discussion.' It's not only the stuff Leonov says but what he leaves out. Look in the book's index ('Look Inside' feature) for Boris Volynov, one of the era's most ablest cosmonauts, survivor of two extraordinary missions and Leonov and Gagarin's fellow trainee for many years...Why not read 'Red Star in Orbit' and 'Uncovering Soviet Disasters', both by Oberg, although some years old but more revealing of the USSR's 'mindset'. A biography of Volynov is soon to be published.
 Interesting, but... March 13, 2008
TAK (NJ, USA)
Very interesting concept of getting both perspectives on the space race but there are some errors in this book. One is so great I am amazed that no one else has mentioned it. On page 39, Leonov states that he met Ernest Hemingway in Cuba... in 1965... Hemingway died in 1961. Is this a simple typo? Or imperfect memory? In either case, there is only a very small window of opportunity for the two of them to meet as described in the book. Hemingway left Cuba in 1960, shortly after the revolution. Presumably, a Soviet cosmonaut would not be visiting Cuba before the revolution. If the meeting took place it could have only been sometime in 1960. This should have been caught in the editing stage.
 Dueling Autobiographies November 15, 2006
Robert I. Hedges
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"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.
Dueling Autobiographies November 15, 2006
Robert I. Hedges
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
"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.
The Eagle & the Bear. December 2, 2005
Betty Burks (Nashville, TN)
4 out of 14 found this review helpful
From all reports, the Cold War was competition between America and Russia to see who could get to the moon and win the "Space Race." Actually, it was who could design and manufacture nuclear arms to blast the other country off into space. So, this book has an odd coupling: an old Soviet astronaut, the first man to "walk in space," and a younger NASA Apollo commander who piloted Gemini 8. I watched all of those missions faithfully until the fatal explosion; after that, it was too traumatic to hear those words, "Go with throttle up."
Alexei Leonov starts with "Temperatures drop to below -50 deg. C in the small village of Listvyanka, Central Sibreia, USSR, where I was born on 30 May 1934." When he was four years old, his father was declared a subversive during the Stalin purge, so they lost everything and had to live in one room with eleven occupants.
David Scott came from a military family, born at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, USA. Before his father became a "fighter pilot," he had an administrative job in a Hollywood film studio in California. David followed in the footsteps of his dad, acted as a technical advisre on the film, 'Apollo 13.'
These two military "commanders" from warring countries have nothing in common, except the moondance in space, as it is more an illusion. Their experiences were not even close. Granted, Leonov was the first man to "walk in space," securing a place in history. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon in actuality; he was the commander of Apollo 11. After spending three days on the moon, David Scott became the seventh to hop around up there collecting souvenirs.
The photo sections speak a lot louder than the words. I'm not sure the average American citizen is ready to be reminded of all the personal terror and pain we endured for so long by their bullying and threats. The title should be called 'Opposite Sides on Earth," opponents to the end. You would think that, by now, USA would realize that trusting one's former enemy can backfire even in defeat.
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