The Making of a Soviet Scientist My Adventures in Nuclear Fusion and Space From Stalin to Star Wars

by Sagdeev, Roald Z.

• ISBN13: 9780471020318
• ISBN10: 0471020311
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-04-20
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

The critically acclaimed memoir that rips the curtain of secrecy off the world of Soviet science."Revelations and insights about the Soviet space program . . . It is good that such a wise man will live among us for a while." -The New York Times."A rare, valuable, insider's look at the Soviet military industrial machine." -Publishers Weekly."I found it fascinating . . . important not only to scientists, but also for those who fashion government politics generally." -Herman Feshbach, Institute Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology."A real contribution to the literature of the space age." -Chicago Sun-Times."This is a powerful yet charming account of the Soviet Union's scientific, space, and military enterprise, characterized by Sagdeev's frank and insightful style mixed with delightful humor and humanity." -Charles H. Townes, Nobel Laureate in Physics, University of California, Berkeley."For all who are interested in the interaction of science and society, and in the nature of the Soviet Union as seen by a keen observer who was at the same time an 'insider' and a dedicated humanist, this book is highly recommended." -Physics Today.

Author Biography

ROALD Z. SAGDEEV is Distinguished Professor of Physics and director of the East-West Center for Space Sciences at the University of Maryland. As director of the Space Research Institute, the eminent physicist led the joint U.S.-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz mission and the international missions to Halley's Comet. In addition to his scientific career, Dr. Sagdeev played a major political role during the first five years of perestroika, serving as an advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva, Washington, and Moscow summits.

Table of Contents

Partial table of contents:

Tickets to Mars.

Going to Kazan.

War.

Only Physics Makes Sense.

The Kurchatov Institute.

My Mentors.

Landau.

Kapitsa: The Lone Warrior.

A Hostage to Politics.

Fusion.

Farewell, Moscow.

The Giant Leap Forward.

The Academy of Sciences: The House of Lords.

The Beginning of a Space Career.

The Chief Designer and the Chief Theorist of Cosmonautics.

The War of the Titans.

War Games in the Academy.

From Here to Eternity.

The War of the Worlds.

Big Oleg.

Gorbachev.

The Call of the Name.

The Revenge of the Comet.

In Place of an Epilogue.

Glossary.

Index.