Beyond

On April 12, 1961, twenty-seven-year old Yuri Gagarin, a Russian ex-foundry worker and loyal Communist, climbed inside a tiny spherical capsule on top of the Soviet Union's most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile – originally designed to carry a nuclear warhead—and blasted into the skies. Eleven minutes later he was in orbit, the first human ever to leave the planet.

Traveling at almost 18,000 miles per hour – ten times faster than a rifle bullet – Gagarin circled the globe in just 106 minutes. From his windows he saw the earth as nobody had before, crossing a sunset and a sunrise, crossing oceans and continents, witnessing both its beauty and its fragility. While his launch began in total secrecy, within hours of his landing he had become the most famous man on the planet.

Beyond tells the gripping story behind that epic flight on its 60th anniversary. It happened in the depths of the Cold War as the US and USSR confronted each other across an Iron Curtain. Both superpowers committed huge resources to get a man in space first. Both took huge risks. And the race would come down to the wire.

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

“'This book is a triumph' Dan Snow 'Just a wonderful book, I can't recommend it enough' Giles Coren 'The thrilling story ... is not the first study of Gagarin and the Vostok missions, still less of Nasa's "Mercury Seven" astronauts -- but bringing the two stories together is a masterstroke ... It is high-definition history: tight, thrilling and beautifully researched' Sunday Times 'Many intriguing revelations [and an] extensive, blow-by-blow account of the race to put a human in space ... Tells the full story of the finest two hours of [Gagarin's] tragically short life' Literary Review 'Thrilling ... brings a huge amount that is fresh and new to our understanding of the Space Race' Daily Telegraph 'Cinematic ... Walker develops a colourful sense of the political theatre of space exploration' Spectator 'Scintillating ...The thrilling ride to be the first man in space is vividly captured in this retelling of Russia's favourite son' Financial Times 'A gripping story, rich in novelistic detail ... Highly recommended' BBC Sky at Night, five stars 'Brings to life the space race and the extraordinary story of Yuri Gagarin ... A history that reads like a thriller' Anne Applebaum 'The very best account of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering space mission - vivid, thoughtful, and respectful ... A wonderfully rendered story of an epochal event' Asif Siddiqi 'The exhilaration of a fine thriller' Colin Thubron 'Suddenly, every previous biography of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and his epic Earth-orbiting flight has been superseded ... A spellbinding and completely authoritative account ... The finest, best researched book ever written on the subject' Colin Burgess 'Dramatic and dynamic. Stephen Walker's passion for his subject along with his exceptional research and attention to detail have brought my father's extraordinary journey vividly to life' Elena Gagarina, daughter of Yuri Gagarin”

‘This book is a triumph’
Dan Snow

‘Just a wonderful book, I can’t recommend it enough’
Giles Coren

‘The thrilling story … is not the first study of Gagarin and the Vostok missions, still less of Nasa’s “Mercury Seven” astronauts — but bringing the two stories together is a masterstroke … It is high-definition history: tight, thrilling and beautifully researched’
Sunday Times

‘Many intriguing revelations [and an] extensive, blow-by-blow account of the race to put a human in space … Tells the full story of the finest two hours of [Gagarin's] tragically short life’
Literary Review

‘Thrilling … brings a huge amount that is fresh and new to our understanding of the Space Race’
Daily Telegraph

‘Cinematic … Walker develops a colourful sense of the political theatre of space exploration’
Spectator

‘Scintillating …The thrilling ride to be the first man in space is vividly captured in this retelling of Russia’s favourite son’
Financial Times

‘A gripping story, rich in novelistic detail … Highly recommended’
BBC Sky at Night, five stars

‘Brings to life the space race and the extraordinary story of Yuri Gagarin … A history that reads like a thriller’
Anne Applebaum

‘The very best account of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering space mission – vivid, thoughtful, and respectful … A wonderfully rendered story of an epochal event’
Asif Siddiqi

‘The exhilaration of a fine thriller’
Colin Thubron

‘Suddenly, every previous biography of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and his epic Earth-orbiting flight has been superseded … A spellbinding and completely authoritative account … The finest, best researched book ever written on the subject’
Colin Burgess

‘Dramatic and dynamic. Stephen Walker’s passion for his subject along with his exceptional research and attention to detail have brought my father’s extraordinary journey vividly to life’
Elena Gagarina, daughter of Yuri Gagarin

Stephen Walker is an award-winning BBC journalist.Born in England and educated in Northern Ireland, he has worked for BBC Northern Ireland for 20 years as a television and radio reporter, a documentary maker and a lobby correspondent at Westminster. He has made numerous current affairs and historical documentaries.Stephen’s journalism has been honoured by the Royal Television Society and the Association of European Journalists.In 2005 he was named the Northern Ireland Journalist of the Year. His first book, Forgotten Soldiers: The Irishmen Shot at Dawn was shortlisted for the 2007 Irish Non Fiction Book of the Year.He lives in County Down with his wife and family.

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