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Author
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Topic: "Two Sides of the Moon" by Leonov and Scott
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 19476
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted February 06, 2004 12:52 AM
   
Coming in May from Simon & Schuster:  Growing up on either side of the Iron Curtain, Alexei Leonov and David Scott shared the same dream - to become a pilot. Excelling at flying, they became elite fighter pilots, and were chosen by their countries' burgeoning space programmes to be part of the greatest technological race ever - to land a man on the moon. Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first man to walk in space. It was a feat that won him a place in history, but almost cost him his life. A year later, in 1966, astronauts David Scott and Neil Armstrong were seconds away from dying as their spacecraft, Gemini 8, spun violently out of control across space. Both men survived against dramatic odds and went on to fly their own lunar missions: Armstrong to command Apollo 11 and Scott to command the most complex expedition in the history of exploration, Apollo 15. Spending three days on the moon, Scott became the seventh man to walk on its breathtaking surface. Marking a new age of US/USSR co-operation, the Apollo Soyuz Test Project brought Scott and Leonov together, finally ending the Cold War silence and building a friendship that would last for decades. |
nasamad
Member Posts: 1727
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted February 06, 2004 05:18 AM
I was just wishing there was a bio of Dave Scott the other day!I've never seen a dual bio like this before but it sounds great, I pray Leonov pops back to the UK for some book signings with Scott! Adam |
William
Member Posts: 43
From: Terre Haute IN
Registered: Nov 2002
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posted February 06, 2004 07:14 AM
This is great news... Am looking forward to reading the bookBill Lower
Terre Haute, IN |
kucharek
Member Posts: 38
From: Karlsruhe, Germany
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted February 06, 2004 08:38 AM
Sounds very promising. Sure a must-buy.Harald PS: It seems to me, that it is meanwhile pretty difficult to publish a serious book on Apollo without getting a foreword by Tom Hanks...  |
FFrench
Member Posts: 2730
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted February 06, 2004 11:48 AM
Dave Scott gave a public talk at the flight museum in Santa Monica as part of the Aurora Auction events in April 2002. As part of that talk, here is what he said about the book at the time:"I have just embarked on writing a book with Alexei Leonov - our parallel biographies. He'd going to talk about Voskhod 2, and I am going to talk about Gemini 8. Basically our race to the Moon, and the Cold War - how each side saw the other side, and how we really got to the Moon - as a political effort. We plan to explore the cultural differences, our insights into the program, the human nature of the program. Not technical, not scientific, but why there was a race, what was in the race, who might have won the race, from the standpoint of our individual missions, which were a part of the race to the Moon. Some of the exciting events, and a comparison of our lives, as Leonov and I are about the same age, our backgrounds are about the same - we were both fighter pilots. But we went through completely different cultures. So it it not so much a story about me or Alexei, as a story about different cultures and societies, and how they put together a competitive race. What we are trying to do is find items of interest. It's a great story." |
kucharek
Member Posts: 38
From: Karlsruhe, Germany
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted February 12, 2004 07:39 AM
The book has popped up at Amazon, available in May.Harald |
Kevmac
Member Posts: 146
From: USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted February 13, 2004 11:22 PM
Does anyone know if there is any chance of either one or both of them doing a book signing tour?Thanks,
Kevin |
rjurek349
Member Posts: 630
From:
Registered: Jan 2002
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posted February 14, 2004 08:23 PM
It looks like Aurora will be selling signed copies as well as the limited, leather author editions. Notice has been placed on their website. |
Voodoo
Member Posts: 48
From: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted February 16, 2004 10:32 AM
Given that Aurora plans to sell signed first edition copies for $179.95, this suggests that there may not be a full scale book tour with signings.I hope I'm wrong ($180 U.S. is too rich for my blood, however much I might want the book), but the signs aren't good. Martin |
Frederic Janik
Member Posts: 277
From: Helsinki, Finland
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted February 16, 2004 11:19 AM
$180 for a single-signature (Dave Scott only) on a "regular" first edition?That would be the first time if I'm not mistaken that an astronaut sells signed copies of a book he has written, at the moment it comes out, for much more than the book's price. Can't remember Aldrin, Cooper, Carpenter or the others doing so (never mind Lovell or Cernan who signed for free by mail). Not sure whose idea this has been but this is a very sad "first" IMO... Frederic |
Scott
Member Posts: 3193
From: Houston, TX
Registered: May 2001
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posted February 16, 2004 03:11 PM
If it was signed by BOTH Scott and Leonov, I might pay $50 for it, even though as Frederic mentions the traditional thing to do is to not charge more than the list price. After all, authors do get royalties. A 2 person themed book, signed by only one of the authors, when the other guy lives in Russia and it would be a huge pain to complete it, for $180? Forget it. |
dss65
Member Posts: 670
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted February 16, 2004 08:06 PM
Glad to see I'm not the only person feeling that way. That said, it would be very cool to have the book with both signatures.------------------
Don |
Richard
New Member Posts: 5
From: Morrisonville, New York USA
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted February 17, 2004 08:34 AM
What about the leather-bound edition. I assume that will be autographed by both. Would that be worth the price in your opinion. |
Scott
Member Posts: 3193
From: Houston, TX
Registered: May 2001
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posted February 17, 2004 09:09 AM
Is it signed by both? I don't know. If signed by both in a very limited number, the price is more reasonable than the regular, single-signed offering. |
poolman18
Member Posts: 218
From: Ontario,Canada
Registered: Mar 2001
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posted February 17, 2004 10:28 PM
Being a big Apollo 15 and Dave Scott fan... I find this absolutely crazy for him to charge this much to sign his book!I will buy the book, but will pass on ever getting it signed and paying for it. Hats of to Tom Stafford, Gene Cernan, Walt Cunningham, Scott Carpenter & Sy for there signatures on their books. David |
Jurg Bolli
Member Posts: 415
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted February 18, 2004 10:29 AM
I talked to Victoria at Aurora yesterday, and she said that BOTH books would only be signed by Scott, not Leonov.I agree, $180 is steep, but I sure am tempted! I'll have to see. Jurg |
the_tartanterror
Member Posts: 158
From: Aberdeen, Scotland
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted March 07, 2004 12:26 PM
As much as I would love a signed copy of the book, I will settle for an unsigned copy purely from the interest perspective.I would never pay that amount for a signed copy of a new book. I think its a great shame for any high profile personality, astronaut, politician or whoever to rip off fans or enthusiasts like that. Think again Dr Scott and his agents. |
Frederic Janik
Member Posts: 277
From: Helsinki, Finland
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted March 07, 2004 01:58 PM
quote:
Originally posted by nasamad:
I've never seen a dual bio like this before...
I'm sure you're familiar with the "dual bio" called Moonshot (Slayton - Shepard).  I agree it would be nice to have Leonov sitting alongside Scott for signing this, but well I'm sure Leonov would insist on signing it for free so it might bother a little his co-author... |
Richard
New Member Posts: 5
From: Morrisonville, New York USA
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted March 07, 2004 07:08 PM
Another very interesting "dual biography" space book is The Race. Although it is not technically a biography, it does portray the Soviet and American space races side by side. |
dss65
Member Posts: 670
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted March 07, 2004 08:30 PM
While we're still on this subject....The book sounds too fascinating to pass up. I know that some of you have experience with cosmonauts and cosmonaut autographs--so far, I do not. What are the chances of having Leonov sign the book, and how would one go about it? An unsigned copy would be of great value, but if I were to get a Scott-signed copy (unlikely at the quoted price), I'd definitely want both authors' signatures.------------------
Don |
Jurg Bolli
Member Posts: 415
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted March 08, 2004 10:42 AM
I disagree with most of you: while I think it's unfortunate that Scott doesn't sign the book for free we don't have to buy it. If he charges $165 through Aurora for a photo $180 for the signed book (incl. the book) sounds reasonable, and just like Armstrong, Scott doesn't owe us collectors anything. I wish he'd sign the book for free (he gets royalties I guess) but he has a perfect right not to do so, and we have a perfect right not to buy the book.Jurg |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 19476
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted April 11, 2004 01:08 PM
The U.S. printing of "Two Sides of the Moon" from St. Martin's Press / Thomas Dunne Books can now be pre-ordered through Amazon.com (for October shipping). |
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