I have to admit, this is a book I bought principally on the strength of its cover (and its blurb), but that doesn't mean it let me down. This shortish book is the story of a Soviet fighter pilot and 60s cosmonaut, a story which takes us, in a deliberately straightforward and linear narrative, from the rubble of Stalingrad to the Far Side of the moon, via North Korea and the Russian arctic.
The book is a curious mix of a Boy's Own page-turner and a reflection on Valour and Fame, worthy of a Greek epic. Somehow, you end up really caring about the flawed and driven exemplar of Soviet heroism who is the subject of this book, and indeed his wife, unsung hero she also, whose name we never even find out - known only as "the widow", including throughout the course of her married life.
This is a terrific tale, written in a deceptively simple style with no distractions. It is full of boyish technical detail, which does not however at any point get in the way of a ripping yarn. How it also manages to achieve a metaphysical depth seems something of a mystery, though, by the end of the book, you are strongly conscious of that level.
Recommendation: you may have gathered that I liked this, so of course I recommend it. It may help though if you're a boy - a lot of this is about planes, rockets, missiles and airborne heroics. Wonderful stuff!
The book is a curious mix of a Boy's Own page-turner and a reflection on Valour and Fame, worthy of a Greek epic. Somehow, you end up really caring about the flawed and driven exemplar of Soviet heroism who is the subject of this book, and indeed his wife, unsung hero she also, whose name we never even find out - known only as "the widow", including throughout the course of her married life.
This is a terrific tale, written in a deceptively simple style with no distractions. It is full of boyish technical detail, which does not however at any point get in the way of a ripping yarn. How it also manages to achieve a metaphysical depth seems something of a mystery, though, by the end of the book, you are strongly conscious of that level.
Recommendation: you may have gathered that I liked this, so of course I recommend it. It may help though if you're a boy - a lot of this is about planes, rockets, missiles and airborne heroics. Wonderful stuff!
Cold War and MiGs - stirring stuff!
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