I havent read most of this either but it reminded me of the recent NOVA documentary that said the first man in space was not Yuri Gagarin but rather another Soviet Cosmonaut who was also a aerospace engineer and either is still alive or was until recently. Gagarin flew only a couple of weeks later and apparently the reason he was chosen as the first was that politically he was a better choice and also younger good looking etc. Ill see if I can look that up.