Storm Kiara is raging outside here in Yorkshire so we've taken heed of the warnings and stayed in.
Just browsing Soviet space art for a MEV-2 post and I came across this interesting looking book.
I wonder if it covers toys?
There were so many Soviet space toys around. Just googling reveals a whole universe of cool toy designs, similar yet completely different to Western releases. Some remind me of Project SWORD!
Has anyone got this book?
Another book that came up was Soviet Space Dogs.
I've grown up with dogs so yep, I'm a dog-lover and can't understand why they sent sentient creatures like dogs into space - never mind monkeys - but hey ho, different times.
I suppose celebrating those dogs as heroes in this book is the least they deserve but its not one for me.
You?
One book I already own is DDR Speilzeug.
Its a glossy coffee-table book picturing hundreds of vintage toys from the old East Germany aka the DDR.
Ironically I bought this in Potsdam after Germany had re-unified. Potsdam was part of East Berlin where just a decade before I would not have been able to be there never mind buy a nostalgic book of old socialist toys!
Incidentally, on the same trip I bought the blue Anker missile launcher featured on the book's cover. It was damaged when Customs rooted through my bag!
Have you any interesting Soviet Union books about culture and toys?
As much as I love Soviet era space history, I couldn't touch anything which dealt with those poor dogs. Belka and Strelka who feature on the cover, were safely returned to Earth, but poor Laika was sent up with no hope of return and died of heat exahaustion, a matter of hours after launch.The Soviet propoganga machine told a different story until the truth came to light many decades later.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean completely Wote. Not everyone feels like us as the Soviet space administration clearly didn't. NASA sent Monkeys up, which was even worse. Oddly the Monkeys don't get the coverage the Soviet dogs get. Is your dog named after the space race?
DeleteHa ha - oddly enough, it wasn't me who chose Luna's name!
ReplyDelete