For any student of the Soviet/Russian space program, "Korolev" fills in the missing gaps in our understanding of the genesis of their thrust into space. The book is informative yet clear in the realization that the heavy bureaucracy, lack of money and technological advances and the "dual" moon programs pre-empted the Russians to effectively compete with the United States in the race to the moon. The author also gives us a keen insight into the cruelty of Josef Stalin and the persecution of the leading Soviet scientists.

I began to read as the space race started and I saw and heard stories about failed and lost Russian space flights. Now that the Soviet archives are so open it is wonderful that all of this information is gather in one book so I can see what is true and what is rumor and where so many of these stories came from. This book clarified so much of what I heard during the 1960s. I see an unflattering review here from The NY Times Review of Books by Alex Roland with a remark about information available from other sources. What a snob! First, I keep my eye out for technical books aimed at the general public I don't know of any other book that collects so much relevent information and also tracks down rumors (without getting into unfounded x-file-ish theories). Yes, if I'd made it my career to study aeronautics then this Korolev book might not so special. What might I read? Oh, here's a book "Atmospheric Flight.." by Mr. Roland. What a snort!

Go beyond the Propaganda with this book.

Massively documented, dense and well written, this book is a treasure to anyone interested in the space race, the men and women behind it, the politics involved, between nations, ideologies, and especially between individuals.

With "Korolev", you follow the rise and fall (to the Gulag), and rise(!) of the man that took on himself to beat the Americans, fighting against the Party, the lack of interest from his leaders, his enemies, and of course, some technological problems.

It's hard to comprehend what could have motivated anyone to work during this troubled era with such devotion and faith in his country, even after having been sent for no reason to Siberia for 7 years during the Stalinist Terror.

And yet, it's this period of space history that saw Sputnik, Gagarin, Vostok and Venera, as well as a number of "circus acts", as they said, that scared the USA about a possible "Communist Moon". It's also the Soviet space program that will create the most ingenious space technology ever built (read "Russia In Space" about the RD-180, or the NK-33 rocket engines, built in the 60's).

It's worth noting that the author never tries to revise history: facts, facts and facts, explained in their context. I am just waiting for such a book to be written on the US space program, the only country with China that still uses propaganda... After all, NASA has been created for the Moon race during the Cold War.