Sputnik: My Part in its Downfall

Amidst all this fiftieth anniversary stuff, I've been trying all morning to think of a way of standing up that headline. But I can't. Though, a few years later, I do remember thinking too much fuss was being made about all such projects in view of what had been happening in sci-fi for decades. So perhaps my dandyish indifference was my part in Sputnik's downfall. Anyway, that gives me a chance to recommend, in case I have not done so already, the works of Stanislaw Lem, the second greatest SF writer after H.G.Wells. Everybody knows Solaris, of course, but try Fiasco, a compelling and utterly weird read.