Beyond

The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space

By: Stephen Walker

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

9.07 a.m., April 12, 1961. A top-secret rocket site in the USSR. A young Russian sits inside a tiny capsule on top of the Soviet Union’s most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile—originally designed to carry a nuclear warhead—and blasts into the skies. His name is Yuri Gagarin, and he is about to make history. 

Travelling at almost 18,000 miles per hour—10 times faster than a rifle bullet—Gagarin circles the globe in just 106 minutes. While his launch begins in total secrecy, within hours of his landing he has become a world celebrity—the first human to leave the planet.

Beyond tells the thrilling story behind that epic flight on its 60th anniversary. It happened at the height of the Cold War as the US and USSR confronted each other across an Iron Curtain. Both superpowers took enormous risks to get a man into space first—the Americans in the full glare of the media, the Soviets under deep cover. Both trained their teams of astronauts to the edges of the endurable. In the end the race between them would come down to the wire.

Drawing on extensive original research and the vivid testimonies of eyewitnesses, many of whom have never spoken before, Stephen Walker unpacks secrets that were hidden for decades and takes the listener into the drama—featuring the scientists, engineers and political leaders on both sides and above all the American astronauts and their Soviet rivals battling for supremacy in the heavens.

©2021 Stephen Walker (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"The very best account of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering space mission - vivid, thoughtful, and respectful of the characters in the story. A wonderfully rendered story of an epochal event." (Asif Siddiqi, author of The Challenge to Apollo)

"Beyond has the exhilaration of a fine thriller, but it is vividly embedded in the historic tensions of the Cold War, and peopled by men and women brought sympathetically, and sometimes tragically, to life." (Colin Thubron)

"Suddenly, every previous biography of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and his epic Earth-orbiting flight - and there are many - has been superseded [...] A spellbinding and completely authoritative account [...] It is rare for someone to tell such a monumental story with the narrative skill, research and suspense one usually expects to find in a James Patterson thriller, but this book is a guaranteed gem. It will intrigue and enlighten any reader who wants to know more about a humble man named Yuri Gagarin and his perilous and near-fatal journey into the then-largely unknown sensations and terrors of the cosmos. Simply put, Beyond is, in my opinion, the finest, best researched book ever written on the subject and thoroughly deserves the ongoing plaudits of space historians and interested readers alike." (Colin Burgess)

Five Stars But Deserves Even More!

An absolutely phenomenal audiobook. Exceptional research and reportage that really stoked my interest in a subject matter that I previously had very little knowledge. I genuinely didn’t want it to end. The narrator is superb also, bringing an authoritative yet thoroughly enjoyable voice. Impossible to recommend Beyond highly enough. Ten stars.

A refrigerator and silk undies for the Hero of the Soviet Union

Pacy informative and revelatory. Perfect balance between the two centres of the Cold War. It puts into context what was happening in the world alongside the space race. The juxtaposition of the Bay of Pigs and Gagarin’s space flight is telling. In the epilogue, there is a frightening insight into how controlling the USSR was in its citizens' daily lives: Gagarin was given by the state a specified number of suits, silk underwear, a refrigerator and his wife two handbags.

Excellent

This really is a stunning piece of history where much of true detail of what happened during the few months to the build up to the launch is not something that is commonly known. It's brilliantly researched leaving no stone unturned presenting all of the - I guess you could say - hidden history. It's not only informative, but also suspensive and you may be surprised to hear very funny at times. In fact there is a point at which things are unfolding very fast with much tension and suddenly you're hit with pure comedy that utterly endears you to Yuri Gararin. This is actually my first audio book and I feel with the reading being so good it did carry me through much of the detail as it builds where as if I had been reading it myself my poor attention span may have got the better of me and I may not have stuck with it. However as the book rode it's crescendoed I was so deeply immersed that I could have just as easily been reading myself as apposed to having the events so excellently acted and read back to me.

OMG ! what a story !

I hold now about 105 titles here on audible ( never listening any sci-fi, romance, thrillers etc. ) and this book together with Bill Bryson " short history..."
is No 1 .
And mr. David Rintoul ( the narrator ) deserves here few words of prize. In the world of audiobooks narrator is so important, his role in reading makes you love or hate named book. He is at his best.
I end up looking for more books read by him I love it so much, and now my thoughts about this book:
Don't count on me, try it yourself.
The amount of facts described in the book by interesting, funny style , ( e.g. the strong winter in New York making city utilities using flame thrower to melt the snow ) is tremendous... This is not only the book about Youri Gagarin but also about two power nations competing, Khrushchev and Kennedy, surprisingly avoiding political praising any nation, the story is said in such a good way you can feel as you would be in between cosmodrome office staff experiencing Korolev's emotions ( btw. everyone knows name of Verner Von Brown the rocket master but no one including me until this book knows his Russian equivalent Korolev, one day he looks at Verner Von Brown's picture in newspaper and say " we should be friends " in deed , theese two should work together to achieve even better goals...)
And when parades in Moscow are happy marching after Youri landing - you feel like you would be in between them. Than, the description about flat, bed, the interior , the of training centre of cosmonauts, comparison to their American competitors, is sooo great.
btw. I didn't know that soviet Was that much advanced over americans in 1961. Quote
" soviets were popping up sputniks like confetti while Americans achieved nothing... "
when soviets have sent their first man into space americans still could not send even chimpanzee up ...Than you feel Yuri's wife emotions as he risks it all, his dad, mom - when she cries in Moscow metro after some one telling her, quote: " his name is Yuri Gagarin -remember that! " o.m.g.
thank you mr. Rintoul and mr. Walker for such a great experience listening this book. I'm sure I will listen that book many times more

So good

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. So well narrated. It is very easy to listen, 10 out 10

Absolutely brilliant, a must read!

They say truth is stranger than fiction and in this case it certainly is! If you saw the story in this book in a film, you would say, that would never happen!! However it did and the story is superbly brought to life by the narrator either the pace and emotion he reads the story with, apart from the odd part where he whispers and makes that part quite difficult to heat.

Superb

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. The description of the race between the superpowers to get a man into orbit was gripping. There was also excellent development of the key characters as the story unfolded. One key message for me was the fact that the United States' drive to put the first man on the moon seemed to be entirely based on being annoyed at the USSR getting to Space before them, We really are stroppy children at the most fundamental level.

Fascinating

Walker’s book will shock, surprise and captivate anyone with an interest in the history of space travel and its origins.

Brilliant 👍

Absolutely Brilliant. Of the scores of Audible books I’ve enjoyed, this has been among the best, enhanced even more by the narrator. Thank you. I finished it minutes ago, on the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gargarin’s space triumph.

Excellent performance!

The narrator deserves a lot of credit here... they really brought the story to life. The story itself was very interesting. Of course I had heard of Gagarin and the space race, but it is rare to see a work focus on the USSR and at the same time have touch points to where the USA was at the same time.
I learnt a lot of new things here.... never realised there were quite as many space dogs!

Highly recommend

An incredible few years in recent history brought to life by superb narration. Among the best audiobooks I’ve listened to.