BEYOND EB
About this book
'Thrilling … High-definition history: tight, thrilling and beautifully researched' SUNDAY TIMES
'This book is a triumph' DAN SNOW
9.07 a.m., April 12, 1961. A top-secret rocket site in the USSR. A young Russian sits inside a tiny capsule on top of the Soviet Union's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile – originally designed to carry a nuclear warhead – and blasts into the skies. His name is Yuri Gagarin and he is about to make history.
Travelling at almost 18,000 miles per hour – ten times faster than a rifle bullet – Gagarin circles the globe in just 106 minutes. While his launch begins in total secrecy, within hours of his landing he has become a world celebrity – the first human to leave the planet.
Beyond tells the thrilling story behind that epic flight on its sixtieth anniversary. It happened at the height of the Cold War as the US and USSR confronted each other across an Iron Curtain. Both superpowers took enormous risks to get a man into space first – the Americans in the full glare of the media, the Soviets under deep cover. Both trained their teams of astronauts to the edges of the endurable. In the end the race between them would come down to the wire.
Drawing on extensive original research and the vivid testimonies of eyewitnesses, many of whom have never spoken before, Stephen Walker unpacks secrets that were hidden for decades and takes the reader into the drama – featuring the scientists, engineers and political leaders on both sides, and above all the American astronauts and their Soviet rivals battling for supremacy in the heavens.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Author’s Note
- PROLOGUE: Fifteen Minutes Before Launch
- ACT I – FOUR MONTHS EARLIER
- 1 Pallo’s Dogs
- 2 Who Let a Russian in Here?
- 3 The House in the Forest
- 4 Inauguration
- 5 Shame and Danger
- 6 The American Team
- 7 The Soviet Team
- 8 The King
- 9 Subject 65
- 10 A Hell of a Ride
- ACT II – DECISION
- 11 The Risk Equation
- 12 At Our Heels
- 13 Ivan Ivanovich
- 14 The Biggest Missile Site in the World
- 15 The Price of Progress
- 16 Boosters and Dummies
- 17 The Military-Industrial Commission
- ACT III – FINAL COUNTDOWN
- 18 Brinkmanship
- 19 Just in Case
- 20 The Egg Timer
- 21 Chimp Barbecue
- 22 Chosen
- 23 Opening Pitch
- 24 Roll Out
- 25 Night
- ACT IV – LAUNCH
- 26 A Mother’s Love
- 27 Key to Start
- 28 The First Seventeen Minutes
- 29 The Next Thirty-Two Minutes
- 30 Moscow Calling
- 31 A Beautiful Halo
- 32 Ba-Boom!
- 33 Gagarin’s Field
- 34 Triumph and Defeat
- 35 The Ball on the Hill
- 36 Party Time
- EPILOGUE: Endgame
- Notes
- Acknowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- Picture Section
- Bibliography, Filmography and Original Interviews
- Index
- Also by Stephen Walker
- About the Author
- About the Publisher