The Wrong Stuff

How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned

By: John Strausbaugh

Narrated by: LJ Ganser

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.

Critic reviews

“Strausbaugh’s droll sense of humor fits well with this examination of the Soviet space program… [He] clearly enjoyed writing this entertaining book, an accessible, engaging story about an era that, for better or worse, is nearly forgotten.”

—Kirkus

The facts.

I liked the truth or the way the data was told. The storytelling was good enough that it wasn’t boring, but not overdone where you feel like it was fake.

Fun and insightful story

An interesting peek into a subject formerly off limits to westerners. Completely changed my opinion about what the cosmonauts and soviets, for that matter, were like. Left me both pitying and admiring the people that made their program "work" with duct tape, popsicle sticks, and moxie.

Excelleny book, very informative

As a retired aerospace engineer, I had heard many stories about the Soviet/Russian space program, so I was not particularly surprised at the theme of this book. The book did provide many details of certain happenings and other information to fill in the gaps of my knowledge.

Well worth the listen!

The right book

Excellent review of the Soviet space program. Very entertaining and well narrated. Would recommend it to anyone interested in this subject.

entertaining

it demistifies the achievements of the USSR, potemkin village all the way, they barely made it