David Scott: Apollo 15 CDR

Book: “Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race”

Who? The book is written from two sides of the Space Race. The NASA chapters are covered by David Scott, Commander of Apollo 15, while Alexei Leonov – the first man to perform an EVA in space (space walk) covers the Russian side.

Written By: There is no ghost writer included on the cover, and the differences between the two men’s styles makes it easy to believe it was written by them alone. Neil Armstrong and Tom Hanks contribute very moving forewords.

Style: Scott and Leonov have very different styles, but both are in the first person.

Covers Period: Previous life biographies and space careers for both, as well as ponderances on the future of space flight.

Review

The idea behind this book is an excellent one. Scott and Leonov were at the forefront of their respective countries space programmes, and are thus ideally placed to give their contrasting views of what is now dubbed “the space race”. Both stress that while political differences were rife, when they met post-Apollo, they discovered they had a lot in common and became friends.

The chapters do not combine their recollections; instead, there is a “Leonov” passage, and then a “Scott” passage covering the same period of time or events. If the passages for each man were combined together, they could easily provide a stand-alone autobiography for each man, so there is a real sense of each personality and experience.

The first thing that strikes the reader is how contrasting the two men are in personality. Leonov is the romantic, the artist, and his sections are very moving to read. He talks of his friendship with the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, and his own wonder at being the first man to go EVA. He also mentions his artistic talent and, beautifully, how he will never be able to capture the wonders he saw during his EVA on a canvass. His attitude to the Russian space programme in general is very positive, very optimistic – but that isn’t to say he skips out on acknowledging their failures. I knew relatively little of Leonov before this book, but when finished he leapt right to the top of list of people I’d like to sit down and have a chat with.

Scott’s sections, on the other hand, are a little more what one expects from an astronaut biography. He is the Air Force cadet, the dedicated pilot and his writing is a little more clinical. He does, however, explain in detail his original reluctance to join NASA at all, and when he writes of his discovered love of geology (during preparation for his Apollo 15 mission) he is more comparable to Leonov in tone and style. I feel had I not had the contrast with Leonov’s very distinctive voice, Scott would have struck me as one of the more “open” biographies I had read.

The wonderful thing about this book is how their careers contrasted. While Leonov was floating above the earth aboard Voskhod-2, Scott was a rookie. As the Russian space programme declined, Scott was flying his three NASA missions – which eventually concluded with Apollo 15, a walk on the moon and the important geological discovery of what is now known as the “Genesis Rock”. As a result, the book is full of impact and information from the start. If the men had written their experiences separately, Leonov would have struggled to talk beyond his early years and Scott would have struggled for creating a compelling read for the early 1960s. However, in the time line, one of them is always in training or on a mission – and that works very well.

Also interesting are their recollections of the other, and their first meeting. Both describe the meeting, and the rather tense argument that followed, and the same story is told in very different ways. Their respect for each other comes across well, and both admit to the enjoyment of while perhaps not agreeing with the other’s politics and way of life, they found that some things – such as flying in space – are forever bonding.

All in all, a very emotional and intelligent read which packs in facts, details and information. I did worry that by combining two stories, I would get neither story properly discussed – in fact, the opposite is true. This genuinely is both sides of the moon, and neither space traveller has pulled punches or covered their words. It’s open, honest and a heck of a good read: congratulations to both for such a project, I enjoyed it immensely.

Rating: * * * * * (Five out of five)