I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I always have been curious of the puppers send to space in Russia, Laika is the one that always immediately pops to my mind when thinking about the topic, but I also knew there were more than just her. In this book we learn about the program, about three famous dogs (Laika, Belka, Strelka), about the various merchandise that came to being due to their popularity, it also talks about diplomacy and legacy.

I learned quite a few new things thanks to this book, for instance I had just no clue that only girl doggies were chosen. One of the reasons why is pretty interesting, I can imagine that you would want female dogs then. There is some about training and the operation (yes, apparently the dogs had operations so their main artery was closer to the skin, which allowed the doctors/scientists to see their pulses more clearly). We learn how the launches went and what happened to some of the dogs. It was quite an interesting read.

After that is onward to the three famous dogs and their merchandise. Dang, there is so much merchandise, some look quite nice, others I wouldn’t want to buy. 😛 I do love the variety of the things, there is something for everyone. Young, old, woman or man. Everyone can have something of these brave dogs in their home.

The book is filled with cute photographs of the dogs! I do feel sorry for that outfit they had to wear.

All in all, not a long read, but still a good one. It was very interesting and I learned quite some new things. Recommended!