The Wrong Stuff

How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned

By: John Strausbaugh

Narrated by: LJ Ganser

A witty, deeply researched history of the surprisingly ramshackle Soviet space program, and how its success was more spin than science.

In the wake of World War II, with America ascendant and the Soviet Union devastated by the conflict, the Space Race should have been over before it started. But the underdog Soviets scored a series of victories—starting with the 1957 launch of Sputnik and continuing in the years following--that seemed to achieve the impossible. It was proof, it seemed, that the USSR had manpower and collective will that went beyond America's material advantages. They had asserted themselves as a world power.

But in The Wrong Stuff, John Strausbaugh tells a different story. These achievements were amazing, yes, but they were also PR victories as much as scientific ones. The world saw a Potemkin spaceport; the internal facts were much sloppier, less impressive, more dysfunctional. The Soviet supply chain was a disaster, and many of its machines barely worked. The cosmonauts aboard its iconic launch of the Vostok 1 rocket had to go on a special diet, and take off their space suits, just to fit inside without causing a failure. Soviet scientists, under intense government pressure, had essentially made their rocket out of spit and band aids, and hurried to hide their work as soon as their worldwide demonstration was complete.

With a witty eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, John Strausbaugh takes us behind the Iron Curtain, and shows just how little there was to find there.

©2024 John Strausbaugh (P)2024 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

“Strausbaugh’s droll sense of humor fits well with this examination of the Soviet space program… [He] clearly enjoyed writing this entertaining book, an accessible, engaging story about an era that, for better or worse, is nearly forgotten.”—Kirkus

The Wrong Stuff - it’s a hoot!

The narrator performed amazingly and made my audible experience very joyful which in turn made my daily commute to & from work very joyful.
The book is well written and chock full of wonderful anecdotes and historic facts of the Russian space program. I’ve always followed the USA space program and this book marches through the space race comparing the two. I completely enjoyed it. Author John Straupsbaugh nailed it! Narrator LJ Ganser brought it to life!
I will look for more audiobooks from either one of these talented individuals.

well researched, but so very poorly written and narrated

clearly the author did his research. and unfortunately, this seems to be one of the few books out there about this Soviet Union's space program. but this book is written as if directed to a bunch of sixth graders and performed like a substitute trying to be seen as the cool teacher to that class.
everything is so snide and snotty and dismissive about the Soviets space program despite the fact that the Soviet beat the United States in absolutely every single benchmark except for landing on the moon. the author is derisive about the Soviets safety protocols and yet more forgiving about the United States disasters. at one point the narrator is so blinded by his Glee in making fun of Yuri Gagarin for writing in a open top limousine, he even compares it to, "just like John and Jackie Kennedy in Dallas.". are you kidding me? the author is so glib that he seems to callously make fun of the assassination of John F Kennedy while sitting next to his wife.
this book would have been so much better if it recognized Russia for their accomplishments in an appropriate way as opposed to making it seem like Russia was a bunch of hicks not knowing what they were doing. these Hicks continued to beat the United States. I'm not a fan of the Soviet Union, but for heaven's sakes, give credit where credit is due.
the narrator is insufferable. I'm hoping to find other books about the Soviet space program to explain things such as exactly how they were able to LEAP so far ahead of the United states, why do their rockets look so cool on the outside but are such junk pits on the inside, and to what degree did espionage play a role in both the US and USSR space program. and hopefully I can find it written by a more mature author and and hopefully I can find it written by a more mature author and narrated by someone with a bit more restraint. 🙄

Vodka, leisure suits & lack of compassion for all living things!

Scary, but not a surprise of the façade the USSR presented. Lives & families were destroyed for the space race…..

Excellent Historical Account

As a child I experience the entire United States space program with great interest, mostly because my father was involved in both the Mercury and Apollo programs. So, listen to such a thorough and concise history of the Soviet Union's space program was quite enlightening.

Scary how they made it too space

The true story of how the Russians space program worked and mostly not worked. The book made me sorry of the people who just wanted to go too space.

Great book and narration

Highly recommend. Behind the iron curtain look at the Russian side of the space race.