Two Sides of the Moon The book titled “Two Sides of the Moon: Our story of the Cold War in Space” is the result of a collaboration between an Astronaut and a Cosmonaut. It is a fascinating account of two men from two opposite sides of the space race. In this book, the American astronaut David Randalph Scott’s (Dave Scott) account of the space race is intertwined with the account of Russian Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. The reader learns through the book that Alexei Leonov was actually the first person to walk in space on 18 March 1965. David Scott on the other hand was an astronaut in the Apollo 9, Gemini 8 and Apollo 15 respectively. Both the authors were exposed to different environments growing up, but both of them ended up in their respective
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He believed that the “aspiration of the Soviets and communism was to take over the world” (24), this is what inspired the American space program and motivated the astronauts. Leonov on the other hand was less clouded in his personal approach towards the Americans, he says and I quote, “The base was just 20 km from the border with West Germany, and often, as I flew near the air corridor separating east from West I saw American Jet fighters on the other side. I felt no animosity toward the American pilots. Sometimes, as a mark of mutual respect, we tipped our wings in recognition of a fellow pilot” (41). Leonov critiques Stalin and Khrushchev through the book as well, he mentions how Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin’s cult status, once he rose to power (25). Leonov even critiques the American Engineers for using pure oxygen atmosphere in their spacecraft, instead of switching to the oxygen regenerating system that the Russians had developed after the tragic death of Valentin Bondarenko (192). David Scott also includes constructive criticism for the Apollo and Gemini missions but throughout the book he would always point out a fault with the Soviet space program, whenever a setback to the United States space program was discussed (207). Both men encountered situations that required quick and witty thinking to save their lives and their missions, which goes ahead to prove that setbacks were on both sides and the human factor played a major role in the way the Space race turned
He believed that the “aspiration of the Soviets and communism was to take over the world” (24), this is what inspired the American space program and motivated the astronauts. Leonov on the other hand was less clouded in his personal approach towards the Americans, he says and I quote, “The base was just 20 km from the border with West Germany, and often, as I flew near the air corridor separating east from West I saw American Jet fighters on the other side. I felt no animosity toward the American pilots. Sometimes, as a mark of mutual respect, we tipped our wings in recognition of a fellow pilot” (41). Leonov critiques Stalin and Khrushchev through the book as well, he mentions how Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin’s cult status, once he rose to power (25). Leonov even critiques the American Engineers for using pure oxygen atmosphere in their spacecraft, instead of switching to the oxygen regenerating system that the Russians had developed after the tragic death of Valentin Bondarenko (192). David Scott also includes constructive criticism for the Apollo and Gemini missions but throughout the book he would always point out a fault with the Soviet space program, whenever a setback to the United States space program was discussed (207). Both men encountered situations that required quick and witty thinking to save their lives and their missions, which goes ahead to prove that setbacks were on both sides and the human factor played a major role in the way the Space race turned