Korolev : how one man masterminded the Soviet drive to beat America to the moon / James Harford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harford, James J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Korolev, Sergeĭ Pavlovich, 1907-1966.

Korolev, Sergeĭ Pavlovich.

Astronautics--Soviet Union--Biography.

Astronautics.

Soviet Union.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xviii, 392 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Wiley, [1997]

Summary:

A mysterious figure, virtually unknown even in his own country, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev masterminded not only the historic launch of Sputnik and the first intercontinental ballistic missile, but Yuri Gagarin's epochal space flight, and, ultimately, the Soviet attempt to beat America to the moon. Who was Korolev? Where did he come from? Why is so little known about him? In this groundbreaking new book, James Harford uncovers the extraordinary story of one of the true pioneers of the space program. Based on extensive interviews with and memoirs of participating engineers and scientists, as well as family and friends, Korolev affords a rare glimpse into the inner circles of a world often cloaked in secrecy and intrigue. Spanning the decades from the 1930s to the 1960s, this is a beautifully detailed blend of biography and recent history, chronicling the remarkable rise of one man from imprisonment in a Soviet gulag on trumped up charges to lead his nation's space program. It is a compelling true tale of triumph in the face of a repressive regime, and of achievement against the odds of limited resources and inferior technology.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 372-376) and index.

ISBN:

0471148539

OCLC:

35567023