The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned
(Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
Author:
Published:
PublicAffairs 2024
Format:
Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
ISBN:
9781541703360
Status:
Checked Out
Description
A witty, deeply researched history of the surprisingly ramshackle Soviet space program, and how its success was more spin than science.
In the wake of World War II, with America ascendant and the Soviet Union devastated by the conflict, the Space Race should have been over before it started. But the underdog Soviets scored a series of victories—starting with the 1957 launch of Sputnik and continuing in the years following—that seemed to achieve the impossible. It was proof, it seemed, that the USSR had manpower and collective will that went beyond America's material advantages. They had asserted themselves as a world power.
But in The Wrong Stuff, John Strausbaugh tells a different story. These achievements were amazing, yes, but they were also PR victories as much as scientific ones. The world saw a Potemkin spaceport; the internal facts were much sloppier, less impressive, more dysfunctional. The Soviet supply chain was a disaster, and many of its machines barely worked. The cosmonauts aboard its iconic launch of the Vostok 1 rocket had to go on a special diet, and take off their space suits, just to fit inside without causing a failure. Soviet scientists, under intense government pressure, had essentially made their rocket out of spit and band aids, and hurried to hide their work as soon as their worldwide demonstration was complete.
With a witty eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, John Strausbaugh takes us behind the Iron Curtain, and shows just how little there was to find there.
In the wake of World War II, with America ascendant and the Soviet Union devastated by the conflict, the Space Race should have been over before it started. But the underdog Soviets scored a series of victories—starting with the 1957 launch of Sputnik and continuing in the years following—that seemed to achieve the impossible. It was proof, it seemed, that the USSR had manpower and collective will that went beyond America's material advantages. They had asserted themselves as a world power.
But in The Wrong Stuff, John Strausbaugh tells a different story. These achievements were amazing, yes, but they were also PR victories as much as scientific ones. The world saw a Potemkin spaceport; the internal facts were much sloppier, less impressive, more dysfunctional. The Soviet supply chain was a disaster, and many of its machines barely worked. The cosmonauts aboard its iconic launch of the Vostok 1 rocket had to go on a special diet, and take off their space suits, just to fit inside without causing a failure. Soviet scientists, under intense government pressure, had essentially made their rocket out of spit and band aids, and hurried to hide their work as soon as their worldwide demonstration was complete.
With a witty eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, John Strausbaugh takes us behind the Iron Curtain, and shows just how little there was to find there.
Formats
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Copies In Prospector
Loading Prospector Copies...
More Details
Street Date:
06/04/2024
Language:
English
ASIN:
B0CK8D7WPP
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
John Strausbaugh. (2024). The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned. PublicAffairs.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)John Strausbaugh. 2024. The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned. PublicAffairs.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)John Strausbaugh, The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned. PublicAffairs, 2024.
MLA Citation (style guide)John Strausbaugh. The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned. PublicAffairs, 2024.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
| Library | Owned | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Digital Collection | 1 | 0 |
| Pitkin County Library | 0 | 0 |
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
246a18aa-7fdb-2c22-3917-9d2d1f457e49
API Extraction Dates
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Aug 28, 2024 15:43:27
Date Updated:
Aug 28, 2024 15:43:27
Last Metadata Check:
Apr 06, 2025 14:03:47
Last Metadata Change:
Jan 26, 2025 13:52:27
Last Availability Check:
Apr 06, 2025 14:03:53
Last Availability Change:
Mar 26, 2025 17:46:09
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Apr 07, 2025 22:27:11
OverDrive Product Record
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0017-1/{2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682}IMG100.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0017-1/{2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682}IMG200.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0017-1/{2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682}IMG150.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0017-1/{2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682}IMG400.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- formats
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781541703360
- name: Adobe EPUB eBook
- id: ebook-epub-adobe
- identifiers:
- identifiers:
- type: ASIN
- value: B0CK8D7WPP
- name: Kindle Book
- id: ebook-kindle
- identifiers:
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781541703360
- name: OverDrive Read
- id: ebook-overdrive
- identifiers:
- otherFormatIdentifiers
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781541703346
- mediaType
- eBook
- primaryCreator
- role: Author
- name: John Strausbaugh
- isOwnedByCollections
- True
- title
- The Wrong Stuff
- dateAdded
- 2024-08-29T00:19:00Z
- contentDetails
- href: https://link.overdrive.com?websiteID=162&titleID=10180805
- type: text/html
- account:
- name: Marmot Library Network (CO)
- id: 1201
- sortTitle
- Wrong Stuff How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned
- crossRefId
- 10180805
- subtitle
- How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned
- id
- 2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682
- starRating
- 4
OverDrive MetaData
- isPublicDomain
- False
- formats
- fileName: TheWrongStuff_10180805
- partCount: 0
- fileSize: 0
- identifiers:
- type: ASIN
- value: B0CK8D7WPP
- name: Kindle Book
- isReadAlong: False
- id: ebook-kindle
- onSaleDate: 6/4/2024
- samples:
- source: From the book
- formatType: ebook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=2fb9fc56-7670-4040-812c-c9fa1762c682&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- fileName: TheWrongStuff_9781541703360_10180805
- partCount: 0
- fileSize: 0
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781541703360
- name: OverDrive Read
- isReadAlong: False
- id: ebook-overdrive
- onSaleDate: 6/4/2024
- samples:
- source: From the book
- formatType: ebook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=2fb9fc56-7670-4040-812c-c9fa1762c682&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- creators
- role: Author
- fileAs: Strausbaugh, John
- name: John Strausbaugh
- publishDate
- 2024-06-04T00:00:00Z
- isOwnedByCollections
- True
- title
- The Wrong Stuff
- fullDescription
- A witty, deeply researched history of the surprisingly ramshackle Soviet space program, and how its success was more spin than science.
In the wake of World War II, with America ascendant and the Soviet Union devastated by the conflict, the Space Race should have been over before it started. But the underdog Soviets scored a series of victories—starting with the 1957 launch of Sputnik and continuing in the years following—that seemed to achieve the impossible. It was proof, it seemed, that the USSR had manpower and collective will that went beyond America's material advantages. They had asserted themselves as a world power.
But in The Wrong Stuff, John Strausbaugh tells a different story. These achievements were amazing, yes, but they were also PR victories as much as scientific ones. The world saw a Potemkin spaceport; the internal facts were much sloppier, less impressive, more dysfunctional. The Soviet supply chain was a disaster, and many of its machines barely worked. The cosmonauts aboard its iconic launch of the Vostok 1 rocket had to go on a special diet, and take off their space suits, just to fit inside without causing a failure. Soviet scientists, under intense government pressure, had essentially made their rocket out of spit and band aids, and hurried to hide their work as soon as their worldwide demonstration was complete.
With a witty eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, John Strausbaugh takes us behind the Iron Curtain, and shows just how little there was to find there.
- popularity
- 0
- links
- self:
- href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1ByAAAAA2r/products/2fb9fc56-7670-4040-812c-c9fa1762c682/metadata
- type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
- shareInLibby:
- href: https://link.overdrive.com/share?q=xVibABz28GI
- type: text/HTML
- self:
- id
- 2fb9fc56-7670-4040-812c-c9fa1762c682
- starRating
- 4.7
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/0017-1/{2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682}IMG100.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/0017-1/{2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682}IMG200.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/0017-1/{2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682}IMG150.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/0017-1/{2FB9FC56-7670-4040-812C-C9FA1762C682}IMG400.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- isPublicPerformanceAllowed
- False
- languages
- code: en
- name: English
- subjects
- value: History
- value: Science
- value: Technology
- value: Nonfiction
- publishDateText
- 06/04/2024
- otherFormatIdentifiers
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781541703346
- mediaType
- eBook
- shortDescription
- A witty, deeply researched history of the surprisingly ramshackle Soviet space program, and how its success was more spin than science.
In the wake of World War II, with America ascendant and the Soviet Union devastated by the conflict, the Space Race should have been over before it started. But the underdog Soviets scored a series of victories—starting with the 1957 launch of Sputnik and continuing in the years following—that seemed to achieve the impossible. It was proof, it seemed, that the USSR had manpower and collective will that went beyond America's material advantages. They had asserted themselves as a world power.
But in The Wrong Stuff, John Strausbaugh tells a different story. These achievements were amazing, yes, but they were also PR victories as much as scientific ones. The world saw a Potemkin spaceport; the internal facts were much sloppier, less impressive, more dysfunctional. The Soviet supply chain was a disaster, and many of... - sortTitle
- Wrong Stuff How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned
- crossRefId
- 10180805
- classifications
- subtitle
- How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned
- publisher
- PublicAffairs
- bisacCodes
- code: TEC056000
- description: Technology & Engineering / History
- code: SCI098020
- description: Science / Space Science / Space Exploration
- code: HIS037100
- description: History / Modern / 20th Century / Cold War