Asif Siddiqi is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Carnegie Mellon University and author of Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes, 1958-2000.

"The essential reference work for Soviet/Russian space history...for anyone hoping to make sense of the too many 'truths' of Soviet Space history." - Journal of Military History; "We finally have a definitive English-language history covering the first three decades of the Soviet Union's space program. Sixteen years in the making, Asif Siddiqi's amazingly detailed book provides a kaleidoscopic view of the technical and political evolution of Soviet missile and space projects....a veritable gold-mind of factual information." - Air Power History; "An extraordinary volume....This is not simply an account of one side of the space race. It is nothing less than the first full-scale, detailed explanation of how and why the Soviet Union led the world into space." - The Public Historian; "No space buff's library will be complete without this book. Readers will marvel at the complex interactions between design bureaus, and will enjoy getting to know the people behind the failed Soviet effort - a vital step toward putting Apollo's victory in context." - Smithsonian Air and Space; "Absolutely mandatory on the bookshelf of anyone interested in space." - Encyclopedia Astronautica

Asif Siddiqi is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Carnegie Mellon University and author of Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes, 1958-2000.

"The essential reference work for Soviet/Russian space history...for anyone hoping to make sense of the too many 'truths' of Soviet Space history." - Journal of Military History; "We finally have a definitive English-language history covering the first three decades of the Soviet Union's space program. Sixteen years in the making, Asif Siddiqi's amazingly detailed book provides a kaleidoscopic view of the technical and political evolution of Soviet missile and space projects....a veritable gold-mind of factual information." - Air Power History; "An extraordinary volume....This is not simply an account of one side of the space race. It is nothing less than the first full-scale, detailed explanation of how and why the Soviet Union led the world into space." - The Public Historian; "No space buff's library will be complete without this book. Readers will marvel at the complex interactions between design bureaus, and will enjoy getting to know the people behind the failed Soviet effort - a vital step toward putting Apollo's victory in context." - Smithsonian Air and Space; "Absolutely mandatory on the bookshelf of anyone interested in space." - Encyclopedia Astronautica

Asif Siddiqi is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Carnegie Mellon University and author of Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes, 1958-2000.

"The essential reference work for Soviet/Russian space history...for anyone hoping to make sense of the too many 'truths' of Soviet Space history." - Journal of Military History; "We finally have a definitive English-language history covering the first three decades of the Soviet Union's space program. Sixteen years in the making, Asif Siddiqi's amazingly detailed book provides a kaleidoscopic view of the technical and political evolution of Soviet missile and space projects....a veritable gold-mind of factual information." - Air Power History; "An extraordinary volume....This is not simply an account of one side of the space race. It is nothing less than the first full-scale, detailed explanation of how and why the Soviet Union led the world into space." - The Public Historian; "No space buff's library will be complete without this book. Readers will marvel at the complex interactions between design bureaus, and will enjoy getting to know the people behind the failed Soviet effort - a vital step toward putting Apollo's victory in context." - Smithsonian Air and Space; "Absolutely mandatory on the bookshelf of anyone interested in space." - Encyclopedia Astronautica