Best books on the Soviet Space Program

[MoonDust]

I go through short bursts of historical fascinations. This time it's the Soviet Space Program, and I'm wondering if any fellow CaBbers know of any good books on it to recommend?

I came across one called Voices of the Soviet Space Program which has first-hand interviews with cosmonauts, and sounds similar to the book Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth (where I got my username from, incidentally) which is about the astronauts of the Apollo missions.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for with regards to the Soviet Space Program. Like I don't know if I want first-hand accounts, the scientific side, the historical side, the space race with the Americans or what, so any recommendations on this subject will be great, ta!

[Milverton]

Although very much in the conspiracy column the story of The Lost Cosmonauts is interesting.

http://www.lostcosmonauts.net/archive.htm

The most entertaining claim is that the first human being left the galaxy about four years ago, albeit very dead.

[MoonDust]

Thanks comrade. I used to look into that myself. Do you know of any books though? Uncle Joe is watching.

[Dex Sawash]

My life as a space station supply ship pilot by Pikup Andropov [/tag]

[MoonDust]

No one have any recommendations? Gulags for all of you!

[Milverton]

Thanks comrade. I used to look into that myself. Do you know of any books though? Uncle Joe is watching.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Soviet-Space-Dogs-Olesya-Turkina/0956896286/ref=pd_cp_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=A3631YS44ZJE8P52X6WD

[Petey Pate]

Not a book, but there was a BBC4 documentary called The Cosmonauts: How Russia Won the Space Race from a few years ago that I'd recommend seeking out.

[Serge]

The only thing I've ever read that's even vaguely related is 'Omon Ra' by Victor Pelevin, which is brilliant, but also fiction, even if it does riff on some of the long-held beliefs about the Soviet Space Race (cosmonauts being left in space to die/it was all faked, etc).

[MoonDust]

Already seen that doc Petey. It's what made me do the comical historical events thread.

I'll check out Omon Ra, Serge.

[MoonDust]

Got myself these yesterday.

The guy in the shop recommended "Soviet Bus Stops". From space exploration to bus stops. Cheers.

[Dolly Clackett]

Red Star In Orbit by James E Oberg. Bit pricey to pick up second hand, so maybe try and get it out of a library if such a building exists anymore.

[castro diaz]

Dear Moonboy,

Last Friday I went to the Cosmonaut museum in St Petersburg with half a mind to buy you a book and in doing so get my good deed out of the way so I can sit back and do fuck all for the next eleven and a half months.  But it didn't have a gift shop so you're out of luck I'm afraid.  The true legacy of Stalin.  Space voyage and man's innate desire for exploration is the one thing that can't be bought in modern Russia, it seems.  Also good quality cheese.

It was a poor museum lack of keyrings aside and about 70% of it consisted of walls of po-faced text detailing the gentleman's science behind the nascent flying machines of the early twentieth century, Russian monoplanes that managed to fly 30 foot before apologising and crash landing killing everyone bored enough to attend its launch.  A shit waste of time.   

The museum's end of level boss was a capsule where Yuri Gargarin lived with his dog and the kindly security guard allowed me to listen to Space Oddity on my phone whilst I climbed up the dividing curtains hanging there and cried about Bowie, the way of us and every fucking thing else, swailing around forever on that velvet bed, lost in the blue felt, hidden and safe in its folds.  Remember when there were things were yet to be discovered?  We ran out of land so turned to water.  That was too deep and wet so we turned our heads up and to space.  We've been there now it only brought us the death of hope.  Oh to have back those young days, before we peeked under the tea-cosy and discovered there was never anything there.

I'll fuck off now and let Captain First himself, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, sum up inadequate museums and mankind and its campaign of self-misery better than I ever could with one but not both of these quotes.  It is either

a) I looked and looked and looked and I didn't see God.

or

b)  I am watching the Earth. The visibility is good.  The machine is functioning normally.

[MoonDust]

Nice post Castro! At risk of diverting the thread a bit, would you recommend St. Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad/and back to St. Petersburg?

I've never been to Russia, and it kinda scares me, but curiosity makes me want to see Petersburg. Seems to be full of history. Plus getting a train from Helsinki to St. Petersburg looks pretty cool.