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Description of  Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin is one of the great heroes of the twentieth century, but the details of his life and the Russian space effort have been shrouded in secrecy: even the names of the engineers who worked with Gagarin were a mystery to the West for many years. It's well written and easy to read. It paints the intertwined stories of the life of Yuri Gagarin and the early space exploits of the Soviet Union without loosing either thread. It both humanizes people within the Soviet infrastructure while pointing out the bureaucracy, red tape, and failings of the system without getting political. Finally, it presents Gagarin not strictly as a hero, but as a man.