Two Sides of the Moon

With a foreword by Neil Armstrong and an introduction by Tom Hanks In this unique dual autobiography, astronaut David Scott and cosmonaut Alexei Leonov recount their exceptional lives and careers spent on the cutting edge of science and space exploration. This book reveals, in a very personal way, the drama of one of the most ambitious contests ever embarked on by man, set against the conflict that once held the world in suspense: the clash between communism and Western democracy. Through the men's memoirs, their courage emerges from their perseverance in times of extraordinary difficulty and danger.

About the Author :
David Scott was the seventh person to walk on the Moon, the first to drive on it, and the last American to fly solo in Earth's orbit. Educated at West Point, he earned two degrees from MIT after joining the air force and graduating from the US Air Force Test Pilot School. He was then selected by NASA to be an astronaut, during which time he completed three space missions. He performed the first successful docking of two space vehicles with Neil Armstrong during the 1966 Gemini 8 mission. He served as command module pilot for Apollo 9, and was spacecraft commander of Apollo 15 in 1971, the fourth successful manned lunar landing mission, during which he spent a record three days on the lunar surface. He worked on the joint USA/USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, was director of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, and was a technical adviser on the film Apollo 13 and Tom Hanks' award-winning series From the Earth to the Moon. His awards include three NASA Distinguished Service Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, two Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the United Nations Peace Medal (1971). Alexei Leonov was born in Siberia in 1934. He was among the first group of cosmonauts selected in 1960 and flew two space missions: first as pilot of Voskhod 2 in 1965 and then in 1975 as commander of Soyuz 19 during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. He is currently vice president of Russia's Alpha Bank.

Review :
"A page-turner, a reminder that behind the high technology there was high drama." --The Guardian "An extraordinary book that provides a very valuable account of the way the Cold War was ended in Space." --Arthur C. Clarke "Dave Scott and Alexei Leonov have each borne the enormous responsibility of commanding spacecraft and of representing their respective countries in the most fascinating and most expensive race in human history. This is their transcendent recounting of that competition." --Neil Armstrong "The lay reader, assuredly, will be left in awe." --Chicago Tribune "This retelling of the space race through their eyes should become the latest 'must-read' book for anyone interested in the history of the U.S. and Soviet space programs before the advent of the space shuttle." --Ad Astra "Their book serves as a testimony of the great work that can be accomplished, even between adversaries, given the chance." --Tulsa World "What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that men set foot on the Moon, but that they set eye on the Earth." --Norman Cousins