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List Price: $16.95 | | Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Salesrank: 611793
Released: February 21, 2006 |
| Our Price: $3.83 |
| Used Price: $1.26 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
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.
Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race Reviews:
The only side of the book: two excellent stories. 
2009-08-12 - This dual biography is also a double history.
Follow Scott's natural path to aviation and to the apex of the journey to the Moon, is as pleasurable as to understand how the destiny lead artist Leonov to become a cosmonaut.
Learn some details of the American space program, open to the public in countless forms and approaches, is so surprising as to get a broader and solid view of the Soviet space program, information-limited and not explicit in the past.
For each of the biographies, the analysis of the context in which both authors were inserted is made in an objective way. This allows us to understand some important aspects of the Cold War in the 1960s, those related to the space race.
Technical information in the appropriate level completes the work, which is an important and essential reading for fans of the space exploration theme.
Leonov the word artist 
2009-02-21 - 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... 
2008-03-13 - 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
2006-11-15 - "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
2006-11-15 - "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.
