Synopses & Reviews
Long before the space race captured the worldandrsquo;s attention, K. E. Tsiolkovskii first conceived of multi-stage rockets that would later be adapted as the basis of both the U.S. and Soviet rocket programs.
Often called the grandfather of Russian rocketry, this provincial scientist was even sanctioned by Stalin to give a speech from Red Square on May Day 1935, lauding the Soviet technological future while also dreaming and expounding on his own visions of conquering the cosmos. Later, the Khrushchev regime used him as a andquot;poster boyandquot; for Soviet excellence during its Cold War competition with the United States. Ironically, some revisionists have since pointed to such blatant promotion by the Communist Party in an attempt to downplay Tsiolkovskiiandrsquo;s scientific contributions.
James T. Andrews explores the complexities of this man to show that Tsiolkovskii was much more than either a rocket inventor or a propaganda tool. He was a science popularizer, novelist, technical inventor, and visionary, whose science fiction writings included futuristic drawings of space stations long before they appeared on any engineerandrsquo;s drawing board.
Mining a myriad of Russian archives, Andrews produces not only a biographical account but also a study of Soviet technological propaganda, local science education, public culture in the 1920s and 1930s, and the cultural ramifications of space flight.
Review
". . . expertly situates Tsiolkovskii's curious career within the tradition of Russian popular science and science fiction. . ."-Michael J. Neufeld, author,
Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of WarReview
". . . a genuine contribution. . ."-Loren Graham, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Review
". . . a genuine contribution. . ." -Loren Graham, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Review
". . . the story of a man with a vision for the future." -Sergei Khrushchev, Brown Universityandnbsp;
Review
"Jamesandnbsp;Andrews has written the first English-language biography of this Russian experimenter and theorizer in attempt to explain why this perennial icon of rocketry and spaceflight retains such an uneven legacy in modern Russia." - Cathleen S. Lewis, Quest
Review
"James Andrews's short, readable biography draws on rich Russian archives to retell the Tsiolkovskii story in its fascinating complexity. . . This biography is a welcome addition to the history of Soviet rocketry. Students of the history of astronautics and Russian and Soviet technology would find here a penetrating analysis of one of the main forerunners of modern rocketry." - Slava Gerovitch, Technology and Culture
Synopsis
Often called the grandfather of Russian rocketry, K. E. Tsiolkovskii first conceived of multi-stage rockets that would later be adapted as the basis of both the U.S. and Soviet rocket programs. Mining a myriad of Russian archives, Andrews produces a study of Soviet technological propaganda, local science education, public culture in the 1920s and 1930s, and the cultural ramifications of space flight.
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About the Author
JAMES T. ANDREWS is an associate professor of modern Russian history at Iowa State University, where he has been director of EurAsian Studies and director of the Center for the Historical Studies of Technology and Science.