I remember reading a quite different account, where due to heavy weather the locals didn't get to approach the dummy before the officials arrived. No mention was made of the locals actually opening the visor of the helmet.
It just seems too perfect, too movie script. There's plenty of references to how the 'Maket' sign was placed in the helmet for just this occurence: in case peasants would get to it before the rescue crew. In my opinion this writer has taken this as an account of what _actually_ happened, but it didn't.
Perhaps circumstantial to this issue, but note that the top Amazon review of the book gives it 2 stars and mentions 'fundamental and gross errors':
It just seems too perfect, too movie script. There's plenty of references to how the 'Maket' sign was placed in the helmet for just this occurence: in case peasants would get to it before the rescue crew. In my opinion this writer has taken this as an account of what _actually_ happened, but it didn't.
Perhaps circumstantial to this issue, but note that the top Amazon review of the book gives it 2 stars and mentions 'fundamental and gross errors':
http://www.amazon.com/Space-Race-Between-America-Dominion/dp...
A review further down says 'many details of the Korolev story seem merely speculative - but it makes for a racy read.'