Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Wrong Stuff:
Better to be lucky than good.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the Soviet space program during the Space Race. Hilarity ensues.
Fact for Non-History People:
During World War II, upwards of 27 million Russian soldiers and civilians were killed in comparison to 420,000 American casualties.
Fact for History Nerds:
Opinion polls in the 1960s generally showed about 60% of the American population thought too much money was being spent on the Moon landing.
My Take on The Wrong Stuff:
It turns out you can judge a book by its cover! The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned by John Strausbaugh tells you everything you need to know about what’s inside, and it does not disappoint. The falling rocket picture is also a wonderful touch.
This is actually a harder book to write than one would expect. Strausbaugh needs to tell the story of the Soviet space program, but it would be bad form to celebrate too hard as a not insignificant amount of people died due to shoddy Soviet workmanship (or lack thereof). I think the author nails the tone, though. Strausbaugh drops in funny comments, points out ridiculous lapses in basic safety, but at the same time is almost in awe that people would work like this in life and death scenarios. There is a begrudging respect for these communist cowboys, but let’s not take it too far. There is way more mockery which is well deserved.
If you are a purist who does not want humor in your history, then this book is not for you. I think you are missing out, though. I laughed, but I learned. Most importantly, I had a heck of a lot of fun reading it.
(This book was provided as a review copy by the publisher.)
Verdict:
Hilarious and intriguing. Buy it here!
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