Starman: the truth behind the legend of Yuri Gagarin by Jamie Doran Starman is an interesting read on the life of the first man in space, butseeing as this book is a reprint, it is disappointing that no more "truth" has been added to the legend in this simple direct edition of the book.
The photographic section could be improved as there are many public photos of the famed cosmonaut, from stamps to posters, and some of these might have added to the narrative on his fame during a time when only the Beatles could compete in terms of celebrity.
Although the story of Gagarin's life was difficult to follow for many years due to the super-secret, paranoid political systems of the times, distortions and facts are carefully made clear in this factual biography, but a more dynamic edition would improve its readability.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, more documents would add to the narrative, but it is not clear that the authors went through such material or whether they had any facility or understanding of the Aesopian language of the times, or the bureacratic nightmare of official records. Also, first-hand witnesses and people who knew Gagarin were unwilling to talk about the man and his times. Whether this can be called the truth behind the legend is debatable, What is clear from this story is that Yuri Gagarin was a humble farmboy, a dedicated citizen, and an able diplomat, who traveled the world, became close friends with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, and this led to his fall
from grace. He was a loving husband and father who eventually became a victim of his celebrity and turned to drinking, partying, and womanizing as the stress of his position in the Soviet government took its toll on him.
There are amusing tales of his pedestrian excesses, and even more interesting are the unknowns of spaceflight at the time, as these explorers on both sides of the Iron Curtain risked their lives as pawns during the high times of Cold War politics.
That there were casualities is no surprise, but while some died on the launch pad, others like Gagarin in accidents, many more were faceless victims of secrecy and silence, and the oppressive nature of East-West government tensions.
Global politics makes for global celebrity, and Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, an aspect of legend that outlived his society.
-- Reviewed by Allan Wilson, the chief librarian at the Prince George Public
Library
