ASCENT

Yefgenii Yeremin is a flyer and he is a phantom. In the Korean War, he shoots down more American jets than any other pilotin history. He becomes the legendary ace dubbed ‘Ivan the Terrible'.But the Soviet Union's involvement in Korea must be kept secret, so hisname remains unknown, his victories uncelebrated. Exiled to a remote Arctic base, he becomes a spectator to the newbattlefield of Cold War rivalry: space. Yefgenii longs to do battle oncemore with America's finest aviators, but he remains invisible, forgotten... until the day in 1964, when a man arrives from Moscow, from the SpaceCommittee, in search of a volunteer. Five years later, Yefgenii Yeremin sets off on the greatest mission ofall, in a ship named Voskhodyeniye. His destination is the Moon. Ascent is the story of how a single act can not only define the meaningof a man's life, but also that of a nation and a species. It is a story ofpower, beauty and ultimately grace, and it is like no novel you have everread before.