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October, 1967. Yuri Gagarin sits atop a Proton rocket, ready to launch. After several turbulent years in the public eye, he's been chosen in secrecy to captain the Soviet Union's latest space spectacular: the first manned flight around the moon.
The second story in the Altered Space series, Public Loneliness is a detailed and imaginative look at a country and a space program with a curious schizophrenia regarding publicity and secrecy. Based on extensive research, it's also a lively and literary story that references familiar classics (like Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea) and forgotten landmarks of Soviet socialist realism, while also touching on universal themes of adventure, alcoholism, heroism and shame. It's a compelling look behind the massive posters at the all-too-real man who led the human race into space.
The titles in the Altered Space series are wholly separate narratives, but all deal with the mysteries of space and time, progress and circularity. Each one is an ensō of words in which orbits of spacecraft, moons, planets, and people allow us fresh perspectives on the cycles of our own lives.
The second story in the Altered Space series, Public Loneliness is a detailed and imaginative look at a country and a space program with a curious schizophrenia regarding publicity and secrecy. Based on extensive research, it's also a lively and literary story that references familiar classics (like Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea) and forgotten landmarks of Soviet socialist realism, while also touching on universal themes of adventure, alcoholism, heroism and shame. It's a compelling look behind the massive posters at the all-too-real man who led the human race into space.
The titles in the Altered Space series are wholly separate narratives, but all deal with the mysteries of space and time, progress and circularity. Each one is an ensō of words in which orbits of spacecraft, moons, planets, and people allow us fresh perspectives on the cycles of our own lives.
Price: $9.99
Pages: 144
Publisher: Tortoise Books
Imprint: Tortoise Books
Series: Altered Space
Publication Date:
29 July 2014
Trim Size: 8.00 X 5.00 in
ISBN: 9780998632513
Format: Paperback
"This great read truly sounds like Gagarin could have written this himself. It captures the spirit of the first spacefarer well, in the middle of a gripping story that had me wondering until the very last page. A great book!" — Francis French, co-author of Into That Silent Sea, In the Shadow of the Moon and Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon
"Really wonderfully written, evocative, and original in its approach to 'humanize' not only the space program but the Soviet side of the race." — Dr. Asif Siddiqi, Ph.D., author of The Red Rockets' Glare, Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge and The Soviet Space Race with Apollo
"I was fascinated by the way you got into Gagarin's head and presented his thoughts for the reader. He comes across as the complex and thoughtful character that he was." — Dr. Andrew Jenks, Ph.D., author of The Cosmonaut Who Couldn't Stop Smiling: The Life and Legend of Yuri Gagarin
"Really wonderfully written, evocative, and original in its approach to 'humanize' not only the space program but the Soviet side of the race." — Dr. Asif Siddiqi, Ph.D., author of The Red Rockets' Glare, Sputnik and the Soviet Space Challenge and The Soviet Space Race with Apollo
"I was fascinated by the way you got into Gagarin's head and presented his thoughts for the reader. He comes across as the complex and thoughtful character that he was." — Dr. Andrew Jenks, Ph.D., author of The Cosmonaut Who Couldn't Stop Smiling: The Life and Legend of Yuri Gagarin
Mr. Brennan earned a B.S. in European History from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University in New York. He's the author of Resistance, and a series of space books including Zero Phase, Public Loneliness, Island of Clouds, Infinite Blues, and the forthcoming Alone on the Moon. He's done extensive original research for his space titles, including interviews with former astronauts (some of whom have walked on the moon) and technical consultation with retired NASA engineers, but budgetary constraints have prevented on-site outer space research. (So far.) His writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Hypertext Magazine, The Good Men Project, and Innerview Magazine. He's the founder of Tortoise Books; he's also been a frequent contributor and co-editor at Back to Print and The Deadline. He resides in Chicago.
Follow him on Twitter @jerry_brennan
Follow him on Twitter @jerry_brennan