Cold War Space Sleuths
The Untold Secrets of the Soviet Space Program
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Beschreibung
Cold War Space Sleuths reads like a Cold War espionage novel, but the reality of the story about the dedicated amateur observers bent on finding out about Soviet spaceflight during the Cold War is just as exciting and absorbing. Told in the sleuth's own words, each chapter unfolds a piece of the hidden history of what was happening behind the Iron Curtain.
Coming from all over the world, including Russia itself, the amateur spies give first-hand accounts of often-forgotten aspects of the Cold War space race. Amongst others, their stories include:
- the history of the Kettering Group;
- looking inside the Russian archives;
- unsolved mysteries, such as why cosmonauts were airbrushed out of the official archives;
- reading between the lines of the Soviet media;
- the impact of Gorbachev's glasnost on sleuthing;
- new research, including chapters by James Oberg, Asif Siddiqi, and Bart Hendrickx.
“Space Sleuths of the Cold War” relates for the first time the inside story of the amateur spies who monitored the Soviet space program during the Cold War. It is written by many of those “space sleuths” themselves and chronicles the key moments in their discovery of hidden history. This book shows that dedicated observers were often better than professionals at interpreting that information coming out of the USSR during the dark days of the Cold War. This book takes a unique approach to the history of Soviet spaceflight – looking at the personal stories of some of the researchers as well as the space secrets the Soviets tried to keep hidden. The fascinating account often reads like a Cold War espionage novel.
“Space Sleuths of the Cold War” includes an impressive list of contributors, such as: Editor Dominic Phelan, giving an overall history of the Cold War hunt for Soviet space secrets. Space writer Brian Harvey reveals his own personal search through official Soviet radio and magazines to find out what they were (and weren’t) revealing to the outside world at the height of the space race. Sven Grahn from Sweden details his own 40 year quest to understand what was happening on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Professional American historian Asif Siddiqi explores his own adventures in the once secret Russian archives – often seeing documents never before read by Westerners. Dutch cosmonaut researcher Bert Vis provides an inside account of the Yuri Gagarin training center in Moscow. Belgian researcher Bart Hendrickx’s details his important translation of the 1960s’ diaries of cosmonaut team leader General Kamanin. Pioneer space sleuth James Oberg’s shares his memories of his own notable ‘scoops.' Paris-based writer Christian Lardier recounts the efforts of French space sleuths – whose work was frequently overlooked in the USA and Britain because of the language barrier.
Gives first-hand accounts of an often forgotten aspect of the Cold War space race, the attempts to uncover secretive Soviet activities Presents the first historiography of Soviet space historians Provides new and unique insights into the often familiar story of the Soviet space program
Autor*in
Dominic Phelan
Themen in »Cold War Space Sleuths«
Amateur spies cold war Cosmonaut archives History space program Russian space program Soviet space secrets Soviet space secrets Soviet spaceflight Space mysteries Space spies The Kettering Group
Stimmen zu »Cold War Space Sleuths«
From the reviews:
“This compilation of ten accounts … sheds light on how amateur watchers used open intelligence sources to shed light on the Soviet space program. Collectively, the writings help readers understand this realm of Soviet studies up to the early 1990s. … The accounts thus offer both insights and anecdotes but double as autobiographical sketches by combining elements of diaries, travel logs, and social histories. … Summing Up: Recommended. Space history collections, upper-division undergraduates and above, general readers.” (G. P. de Syon, Choice, Vol. 50 (11), August, 2013)
“A network of amateur sleuths, scattered throughout the world, attempted to penetrate the veil of secrecy and eventually succeeded. ‘Cold War Space Sleuths: The Untold Secrets of the Soviet Space Program,’ edited by Dominic Phelan, tells their stories. … For those interested in space history and the space race, ‘Cold War Space Sleuths’ will offer a fresh and innovative perspective. It recaptures the excitement of the era through the eyes of enthusiastic researchers.” (Mark Lardas, The Galveston County Daily News, March, 2013)
“This book … is a fascinating collection of memories of space sleuths, those self-defined individuals who throughout the Cold War era (and beyond) became dedicated amateur observers of the Soviet space program. … For anyone interested in space history, this provides a detailed overview of those tenacious individuals at the end of the 20th century who dedicated their lives to opening up information for the general public.” (James T. Andrews, Quest: The History of Spaceflight, Vol. 20 (3), 2013)
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