# Rockets and People by Boris Chertok

4 Hacker News commenters recommended Rockets and People by Boris Chertok and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a first-hand history of the Soviet space program, written by an engineer who worked on it. Reviewers point to it as a starting point for the subject.

## Why people recommend it

- Firsthand history of Soviet space program (2 comments): "I highly recommend English translation of memoirs of Boris Chertok to anyone interested in the history of Soviet space program." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49583883)) "You should probably read something on the Soviet space program (starting with Rockets and People, for example)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49712707))
- Good starting point on the subject (1 comments): "You should probably read something on the Soviet space program (starting with Rockets and People, for example)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49712707))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams](https://hackerapproved.com/p/careless-people.md): 106 recommend
- [Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl](https://hackerapproved.com/p/man-s-search-for-meaning.md): 13 recommend
- [Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/surely-you-re-joking-mr-feynman.md): 11 recommend
- [Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/down-and-out-in-paris-and-london.md): 9 recommend
- [Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kitchen-confidential.md): 9 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/154974223X?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781549742231) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Rockets and People by Boris Chertok", https://hackerapproved.com/p/rockets-and-people/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).