Much has been written in the West on the history of the Soviet space program but few Westerners have read direct first-hand accounts of the men and women who were behind the many Russian accomplishments in exploring space. The memoirs of Academician Boris Chertok, translated from the original Russian, fills that gap. In these writings, spread over four volumes, Chertok not only describes and reflects upon his experiences, but he also elicits and extracts profound insights from an epic story about a society's quest to explore the cosmos.