5 comments about Sky Walking: An Astronaut's Memoir.

1. "Sky Walking" is the second space shuttle astronaut biography I have read after Mike Mullane's "Riding Rockets". I enjoyed both books a lot but they are very different in style. Mike Mullane's book concentrates mostly on humorous anecdotes from his astronaut career (although there are serious parts) whereas Tom Jones has more of the detail involved in astronaut training and I would have to say that if you want to know the fine details about being an astronaut, get this book. I haven't seen anything better in this regard.
   
   Tom Jones started his astronaut career in 1990, just about the time when Mike Mullane was winding down (he was in the 1978 astronaut class) so the two books cover virtually the whole Space Shuttle era. Tom eventually flew four missions, the last being the outfitting of the Destiny laboratory on ISS in 2001. As the title suggests, there is a lot about space walking but Tom didn't get to do any until the last mission. He was scheduled to do a spacewalk on STS-80 but, as described in the first chapter, the airlock wouldn't open.
   
   The book is simply packed with detail on mission training and the space walk training in the NASA WETF and NBL training facilities is described so well that your body almost starts to ache in sympathy. Being an astronaut is definitely not an easy job. As you would expect, there are numerous anecdotes throughout, one of my favourites being Story Musgrave staying on the Shuttle flight deck during the STS-80 re-entry so he could video it. Certainly a man with the right stuff.
   
   If you just want to get an overview of astronaut training rather than the full detail I would probably recommend Mike Mullane's book ahead of this one. There isn't as much humor in "Sky Walking" either but it's still worth five stars.



2. This is a highly readable and expertly written account by Tom Jones about his astronaut career.
   He writes from his heart, and has clearly thought a lot about how to effectively communicate his experiences.
   His use of imagery puts this book in the realm of literature, though it is definitely non-fiction.
   A must for your Christmas list if you are or once were an aspiring astronaut, an aspiring writer of topics related to space and technology or just interested in knowing what it is like up there. It is a great read; I laughed, I cried, learned something about space, space policy and history, and was amazed by it all!



3. Sky Walking is the best account of the experience of space that I have ever read. It takes you deep into the physical and emotional sensations of space travel where you the reader experience what astronauts experience right down to the mundane task trying to locate an item that has floated away in the cabin or trying to use an exercise bike with zero gravity. Tom Jones is an articulate writer capable of constructing wonderful imagery and some choice metaphors about every aspect of space travel from training to launch to rentry. His descriptions of his space walks and working aboard the International Space Station are particularly memorable. Jones is also not afraid to render an opinion about this America's commitment to space what can and should be done to maintain NASA as a shining symbol of American capability. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a curiosity about what space travel is really like.
   -- Jerry Burton, author of Zora Arkus-Duntov the Legend Behind Corvette and Corvette, America's Sports Car, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.



4. There are many excellent books written by and about the Right Stuff astronauts who flew during the earlier days of the space program. However, until recently, there has been a nearly total lack of books by and about the shuttle astronauts who fly now. For better or worse, today's space program is as different from the program of the early days as the shuttle is different from the Apollo capsules. And today's astronauts are different, too.
   
   Mike Mullane was the first of the shuttle astronauts to write about his experiences in his book Riding Rockets. However, Mullane was a member of the group that made the transition from the Apollo program to the shuttle program, and the tone of his book is almost wistful; he clearly wanted to be one of the Right Stuff guys-- and he means guys-- but he ended up being a shuttle technician.
   
   Sky Walking is a memoir by a very different sort of astronaut. Tom Jones was very young during the "glory days" of the space program, so he has no Right Stuff preconceptions about astronauts as death-defying heroes. Rather, he is an Air Force Academy graduate who flew B-52s, earned a PhD in planetary sciences, and became a dedicated, professional shuttle program technician. That could have made for a dull, technical book if it weren't for his intellect and, more importantly, his powers of observation and ability to reflect on what he experienced.
   
   Jones flew four shuttle missions and took three space walks on his final mission, which was dedicated to construction on the International Space Station. His accounts of what space walks are like-- and of the hundreds of hours of training that precedes each one-- are first rate. His descriptions of the ISS and of the issues surrounding its planning, funding, and construction are excellent. I don't know of any other insider's book that deals with the ISS in such detail or with such authority. This is because Jones was an administrator in the ISS program between his third and fourth shuttle flights.
   
   The subtitle says that this is "an astronaut's memoir," and that's exactly what it is. Jones takes us trough his selection as an astronaut, his general training, his years of waiting for flights, his training for those flights, and the flights themselves. There is considerable technical information in the book, but Jones does an excellent job of clarifying it for non-experts. The real focus is on Jones himself-- what he sees, thinks, and feels about what's happening to him.
   
   This is an outstanding book. It answers the two basic questions many of us have always had: "What's it REALLY like to fly in space?" and "What are those people REALLY like?" I thoroughly enjoyed Sky Walking, and I recommend it most highly.



5. Not the Right Stuff for me.
   The writing is wordy, attempts to be profound and "educated" at every turn, and fails.
   
   His single most dramatic story, the stuck hatch, is anti-climatic.
   
   His second most dramatic story: too much air getting into the food packets.
   
   There is very little "inside scoop" here, as NASA is portrayed as all glorious, and almost perfect. Yet we know, and see demonstrated on a regular basis, that the opposite is true.
   
   Find this locally if you can, and browse through it first to see if its the right stuff for you.

5 comments about First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong.

1. WHETHER YOU LIVED THROUGH THE ERA OF THE LANDING ON THE MOON OR ARE A YOUNGER PERSON WHO HAS ONLY HEARD THAT THE USA WALKED ON THE MOON, THIS BOOK IS THE ABSOLUTE HISTORICAL AUTHORITY FOR NOW AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
   IT IS FILLED WITH DETAILS AND EVENTS THAT ONLY NEIL ARMSTRONG HIMSELF COULD PROVIDE. I AM SO GRATEFUL TO DR. HANSEN TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WRITE THIS BIOGRAPHY WITH THE COOPERATION OF NEIL ARMSTRONG HIMSELF. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BOOK OF ITS KIND!!



2. First Man is an extraordinary book for several reasons. Neil Armstrong has not allowed authors to write about his legendary and even tragic life events- so this book's very existence is an achievement.
   
   Written in exquisite detail (at times too inclusive), Hansen has painstakingly researched one of the most important figures in the history of mankind.
   
   One often finds himself wanting to skip to the "good parts," however, the flow of First Man keeps one interested in the stories as they unfold.
   
   Perhaps the most intriguing part of Armstrong's life are the numerous myths and legends that became urban legends. Hansen sets the record straight and exposes some unknown facts about the man who was to lead the way to the greatest adventure the human race has seen.
   
   Tahir Rahman, author of We Came in Peace for all Mankind



3. Somewhere in my reading, I remember someone who said that there is only one name from the 20th Century that is guaranteed to be remembered 1,000 years from now; the name of the first man to step foot on another planet, Neil Armstrong.
   
   I was alive when Apollo 11 landed and Armstrong made his historic step but, at 11 months old, far from old enough to remember the event. Despite that, though, the events of July 20, 1969 are so much a part of historical memory that it seems like we were all there. There's always been one mystery, though, and that's been the man who actually stepped off the Eagle and onto lunar soil for the first time. Now, the mystery is, at least somewhat, solved thanks to the publication of an fascinating biography of the First Man On The Moon, titled, appropriately enough, First Man.
   
   James Hansen, who was given extraordinary access to Armstrong himself as well as his family and personal records, tells a story that stretches from Armstrong's boyhood in Ohio, to Korea, to his years as a test pilot, all of which were mere training for his ultimate destiny. In addition to a mass (though not overwhelmingly so) of technical data about everything from the X-15 flights that Armstrong flew at Edwards AFB to the Gemini and Apollo programs, Hansen paints, as best he can, a portrait of an intensely private man who was thrust, willingly or otherwise, into an intense spotlight comparable to that of his boyhood hero Charles Lindbergh.
   
   Like Lindbergh, Armstrong was and is, it seems, the reluctant hero. Hansen consistently quotes him as giving equal credit for the achievements of Apollo 11 to his crew mates and the men on the ground and in the factories who built the Apollo program from the ground up.
   
   The most compelling parts of the book, of course, come when Hansen tells the story of the landing and first sojurn onto the lunar surface, including excerpts from recordings of conversations among the crew that were never broadcast publicly. After that, somewhat disappointingly, the book comes to a very quick close. The story rushes through the post-Apollo 11 euphoria and Armstrong's short involvement as a NASA administrator and offers vignettes showing the difficulties that he had coping with the public's fascination with him, some of which was obsessive to say the least.
   
   All in all, though, First Man is an excellent read, and, as the official biographer to the First Man on the Moon, Hansen has done a fabulous job with the task that Armstrong assigned to him.
   
   If you have any interest in the history of the American space program at all, this book is a must-read.



4. James Hansen's authorized biography of pilot/engineer/astronaut Neil Armstrong is a well written and long awaited in-depth look at a man who has led a truly extraordinary life. His detailed accounts of Armstrong's roots, interests, loves, successes and tragedies made a captive reading experience for me. It was Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 journey that inspired my lifelong interest in spaceflight.
   
   I feel for him in his pursuit to maintain as much of a personal life as possible over the years. NASA and the space program may be owned by the taxpayers, but it's human participants are not. Neil has recognized this more than many others have.
   
   An excellent biography. I highly recommend it.



5. Simply put, there is no finer book in print that helps us understand the modern-day Christopher Columbus of our times - Neil Armstrong. Not only will you come to better understand the man, the First Man, but you will also walk away with a tremendous appreciation for the Apollo program generally and the Apollo 11 mission specifically. Budget some serious time to get through this book but add it to your list of reads for 2008.

5 comments about Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey into the Unknown.

1. In 'Leap of Faith,' Gordon Cooper adds his voice to the growing chorus of former military pilots and officers who have had direct experience with the alien presence, a presence the `Robertson Panel' has tried desperately to hide using the CIA's array of obedient "media assets." Though most of the old Cold Warriors fought the good fight to keep Americans ignorant about alien visitors, often right up until their deaths, quite a few have realized democracy doesn't function very well under such institutional self-deception. The lies have corrupted our government, weakened our economy, and spawned criminality in high places. If only America had a few thousand more voices like Cooper's!
   
   This book is, of course, much more than a tale of aliens and their craft. It is the story of an adventurer who went where no one had gone before, at a time when technology was barely adequate to get him there. That took intellect and guts. But in my mind, it is Cooper's unwillingness to knuckle under to NASA's oppressive secrecy rules that makes him stand out among the astronaut corps, most of whom have kept their mouths shut about NASA's most significant discoveries.
   
   Readers who have swallowed the official lie hook line and sinker may find it hard to accept the notion of aliens among us, but that is because they are deeply ignorant of our history. They were too young to remember when close-up `flying saucer' reports by commercial and military pilots filled the nation's newspapers. They don't recall when President Eisenhower tried to assure Americans, on the front page of the Dec. 16, 1954 'New York Times,' that the Earth was not being invaded by saucers from outer space. By 1953, the military machinery of censorship and propaganda began to torque down. Gradually, these stunning press accounts disappeared. The UFOs did not go away but press coverage did. That was good enough to fool a great many people.
   
   To be sure, there have been many leaks since. In 1988, Maurice Chatelein, the brilliant engineer who designed the Apollo communications and data-processing system, confided in his book 'Cosmic Ancestors,' that some of the Gemini and Apollo craft had been followed by "space vehicles of extraterrestrial origin." NASA, he said, kept this information very quiet. This was confirmed by Col. Philip J. Corso in 'The Day After Roswell' (pp. 128-129). And there have been other such voices, most unheeded by America's sheep-like news media.
   
   But you don't need to take their word for NASA's secrecy. Check out the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1203, Subpart B, which spells out the procedures for keeping sensitive NASA information Top Secret, Secret, and Restricted. Or consider that NASA plays a key role in administering the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, under which thousands of innovations have been classified for "national security" reasons.
   
   NASA gets mighty nervous when UFO researchers get together to discuss space propulsion with its personnel, as they did in 1999. To make certain nothing classified got out, it sent Special Agent Keith Tate to monitor the event, as reported in the Oct. 8, 1999, San Francisco 'Examiner.'
   
   As for face-to-face meetings with aliens, RAF Air Marshall Peter Horsley, an aide to Britain's Prince Philip, reported just such an experience in his 1997 autobiography, 'Sounds from a Distant Room.' Horsley also reported that British pilots, too, have had their share of aerial close encounters.
   
   The gullible skeptics are being slowly dragged, kicking and screaming, toward the realization that they have been soundly hoodwinked by their own government. Is it so surprising that they lash out so emotionally at messengers like Gordon Cooper who bear such ego-shattering news?



2. Very good book as long as it deals with the space program, full of anecdotes. I learned a lot. (I have almost 150 books about the American Space Program). If you believe in UFO's then you will love all the book, if you don't you may be disappointed by some of Gordon Cooper's allegations.



3. This work has produced a rather hefty array of responses from Amazon readers, many of whom are stridently opposed to Cooper's career-long pursuit of the secrets of UFO's and other mysterious new technologies, and others who see in the Mercury astronaut a hero of what now appears to be a cause losing steam. Our focus here is on the book, however. For as several reviewers have correctly observed, this is a tale of two Gordo's, one battling the unknowns of space, and the other battling the knowns of the NASA/military industrial complex.
   
   Unfortunately, neither tale is particularly compelling. The account of the astronaut's career, coming as it did in 2000, was the tail of the dog in a string of early astronaut autobiographies as the pioneers rushed to beat the Grim Reaper with their version of events. As to the second, Cooper's extensive research and observations about UFO's are not as deliciously crazy as some would like us to believe, either. In fact, some of his conjectures about alien propulsion systems and the like are rather fascinating to the layman.
   
   While Cooper has been a busy man since leaving NASA thirty-something years ago, it would seem that something he neglected to do is read what others around the space program were writing in those three decades, and specifically what they were writing about him. One Amazon reader in this sequence of reviews reports to having collected 150 such volumes himself. The general consensus of post-Apollo writers seems to be that Cooper's years with NASA are somewhat enigmatic. One of the original seven Mercury astronauts, he was the last one to fly, a statement of sorts about how the NASA hierarchy regarded him. [Oddly, NASA's "the best shall be first" policy in Mercury resulted in Cooper's complex and spectacularly successful Faith 7 two-day marathon, the last flight in the Mercury series.]
   
   Cooper and Pete Conrad would fly the Gemini 5 mission in the summer of 1965 to test fuel cells, endurance and, as the author observes wryly, defecation technique. But after Gemini 5, Cooper becomes an invisible man. He was designated to the back-up crews of three future flights, the last of which, Apollo 13, he turned down as a political slight.
   
   So why did the hero of Faith 7 fall out of favor in succeeding years? This is the question most readers today would probably bring to the book. The author himself never does soul-searching about his own role in why his space career stalled. Instead he boils his dilemma down to two words: Al Shepard. Cooper believes that Shepard, embittered by his health problems and eager to get back into rotation, used his influence with Deke Slayton, then assigning crews, to keep the Mercury hero under the radar. Cooper's distrust of Shepard appears to date back to his Faith 7 days in 1963 when he asked Wally Schirra to privately tail Shepard, then Cooper's back-up, during pre-flight training.
   
   Cooper cites the Shepard/Slayton cabal as symptomatic of the increasing bureaucracy of NASA, the military, and the federal government. He notes, for example, his complaint in a conversation with President Lyndon Johnson that his photography from Gemini 5 had been seized and classified. Johnson coolly informed him that he, the president, had given the order. It is important for the reader to observe keenly Cooper's misadventures with government entities, for they are of one weave with his later criticisms of government cover-up in the reporting of UFO sightings and general hostility toward individuals like himself at the outer margins of technology, from this world or another.
   
   If Cooper feels that he was blackballed by Shepard and Slayton, what can we say of astronauts Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, Gene Cernan, and Pete Conrad, to name several whose careers thrived under the Slaton-Shepard regime? Lovell, in fact, flew four space missions [two Gemini, two Apollo] after Cooper's Gemini 5, and he is living proof that the "evil duo" was not completely adverse to the emergence of "stars" in the astronaut corps.
   
   No, the answer to Cooper's dilemma is more personal, and probably reflects nagging doubts in NASA about Cooper's manageability and application to the growing complexity of the space business. In this Cooper was hardly alone. Nearly all of the original Mercury Seven had difficulty adjusting to a bigger astronaut corps, greater bureaucracy, public relations, politics, and the general idea of "teamwork." It is no accident that Schirra and Shepard, the two Mercury veterans to fly Apollo, each chose all rookie teams. [Walt Cunningham of Apollo 7 would refer to Schirra as "the cock of the walk."] Schirra himself found the new NASA so discomfiting that he passed on a sure moon landing assignment and retired.
   
   Because Cooper does not really address his own career difficulties with insight, the charges of some historians that Cooper did not train or apply himself sufficiently will still be left to hang out there in the foreseeable future. This is regrettable, because Cooper, like his colleague Scotty Carpenter, was one of the true multidimensional human beings of the early space program. And I give him a great deal of credit for his respect of John Glenn and others for whom timing and luck made them national heroes.
   
   Given Cooper's colorful space career, his subsequent employment by Disney, among others, comes as little surprise. The intrepid pilot of Faith 7 became--how can I put it?--a magnet for scientific entrepreneurs, some of remarkable brilliance, some eccentrics, and some undecipherable. Cooper apparently never lost touch with his astronaut friends, but he certainly picked up new ones along the way, including the mysterious clairvoyant and purveyor of character Valerie Ransone who seems to have preoccupied his personal and scientific attentions for a period in the 1980's. Perhaps if he had met Valerie in 1965, it would be Gordon Cooper making that giant leap for mankind.



4. I too was first confused by Coopers reference to the Saturn VIII. After reading other books about Chris Kraft and Werner Von Braun, it dawned on me that he was referring to the Nova rocket that was on the drawing boards in the early sixties by Werner Von Braun. See the Wikipedea for more information. The Nova rocket was conceptualized before the powers that be decided on the LOR (Lunar Orbit Rendevous). Everybody, including Von Braun thought the best approach was the direct ascent, which was to land a rocket vertically and blast off from the moon and return home. The other option explored was (EOR) or Earth Orbit and Rendevous, where the componets for direct ascent were to be launched individually and assembled in earth orbit, then on to the moon. The winner, LOR, was scoffed, but through perseverance, it won out as the quickest way to get to the moon with the lightest payload. Therefore, the Nova (Coopers Saturn VIII) was never needed.
   
   I'll admit this threw me for a while too. It was worded as if it existed. It never existed beyond the conceptual level. Wikipedia has a picture showing it having a 50' diameter first stage and 8 engines while the Saturn V had a 33' diameter first stage and 5 engines. The height would have been just 10' taller than the Saturn V. It would have been a beast at lift off.
   
   I thought the UFO reference's a little far fetched, and I've read that the confication of film after the gemini lauch was improbable. Cooper says the film was developed right there on the recovery ship and I've heard this was never the procedure. Maybe he's right and their is a conspiracy after all!



5. Over the past few years I have rediscovered my fascination with the 1960s space race by reading several books by or about people connected with NASA back in those glory days. After reading "Leap of Faith" I have now read biographies of all the Mercury Seven astronauts. The good news is that Gordon Cooper's book is easily one of the most interesting. The bad news is that I don't exactly mean that as a compliment.
   
   For about two thirds of this book Cooper recounts his days with NASA and here he is, pardon the expression, on solid ground. The passages feel a bit rushed and his interpretation of events differ from other viewpoints you may have read, but he's Gordon Cooper and he's earned the right to have his say.
   
   Unfortunately, the NASA days are only part of Cooper's life story and it's the remaining one third of the book where he drives himself into the ditch. I knew from other sources that Cooper firmly believes flying saucers have visited the Earth and our government has conspired to keep the truth from us. I don't believe this myself, but again, he's Gordon Cooper and he has earned my respect. I was willing to listen to what he had to say.
   
   A few UFO stories would have been fine, but Cooper shoots himself in the foot and destroys whatever credibility he had when he recounts his relationship with Valerie Ransone who he met in the late 70s. Ransone claimed to receive telepathic messages from space aliens and wanted to use the knowledge she was gaining to start something called the Advanced Technology Group. Of course, this group needed some funding to get itself going.
   
   Rarely, if ever, have I read a book before where something becomes painfully obvious to the reader but of which the author remains blissfully unaware. Ransone begins to use Cooper for his name and prestige to obtain money for what is nothing more than a huge scam. Cooper never seems to catch on. His viewpoint always seems to be "It might be true, therefore it is true."
   
   The lowest point in this silliness comes when Ransone announces that the aliens are coming to Earth to give Cooper a ride in one of their saucers. Cooper, as gullible as can be, prepares for his expectant UFO flight just as he had for any of his NASA missions. It comes as absolutely no surprise, to anyone but Cooper I guess, when shortly before the flight the aliens are forced to cancel. Apparently there was a political squabble over this proposed flight back on the homeworld. Darn the luck.
   
   One is left to wonder if Cooper really believed all this nonsense or if he was just including it as a way to make his book stand out and sell a few more copies. Either way, it's a pretty poor way for a true American hero to act.

No comments about Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History.

5 comments about The Right Stuff.

1. You carry your expectations to a book, and this one was a disappointment to me. This book, in my view, offers a sophisticated version of hero worship. But, while showing many of the foibles of the characters, it is worshipful and indeed, facile myth generation. You get a bunch of you-are-there style descriptions - the kind of light stream-of-consciousness that made Wolfe famous as a hip young beat journalist - and they are fine as far as they go, but at least for me, I felt there is far too little substance behind it.
   
   In spite of Wolfe's somewhat cynical veneer, the characters fall into some pretty simplistic stereotypes. You get the tough, natural aristocrat, Chuck Yeager, the real yet unknown superstar, and then you get the media-sensation astronauts, who are promoted for political propaganda reasons. Thus, there is John Glenn ("the clean marine") and a host of other less colorful characters. I did not feel I got to know much about them. Glenn, whom I worked for in the Senate 20 years ago, comes off as the most boring of straight men, which I don't think encompasses him well at all.
   
   Then there is the period of history in which it all takes place, the Cold War. Wolfe offers nothing much of interest about this frightening period of technological competition between the US and USSR. I felt it was just kind of a useful background for Wolfe. This stands in stark contrast to Wolfe's wonderful Electric Coolaid Acid Test, which really plumbed a lot of the 1960s psychedelic spirit - that was why I expected so much more, I suppose.
   
   I would recommend this as a fun read, but not much beyond that. It is strictly throwaway and does not demand much concentration or stimulate the reader to dig deeper elsewhere, which for me signals a failed reading experience.



2. This book is one of the best accounts of, indeed any scene, I have ever read. Wolfe, with his half academic half layman writing style, explores the men and indeed the whole phenomenon, that was the American space program in the 50ies and 60ies. In a delightful manner he gets to the heart of what makes the people involved "tick", and does a great job in bringing their feelings and through to the reader. The reader can truly emerge him/herself in this exciting world of fast planes, fast cars, hope, fear and glory.
   
   The only thing "wrong" with this book is that it is too short. I would've loved to see 50-75 more pages telling more about the "aftermath", as it were, but that is merely because the book was such a jolly good read to begin with. And, I must add, I'm not even interested in planes, speed or space programs or indeed American history.
   
   Highest possible recommendation.



3. As a 'random' book to pick up and read, I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of information provided in this book. I also enjoyed the writing style. Excellent excellent, must-read book!



4. Bang! Zoom! Pow!
   
   If you like prose that crackles like sparklers in your eyes, and tells a good story besides, then Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff", about the Mercury 7 spaceflight program of the early 1960s, is for you.
   
   Published in 1979, back when the U.S. was the world's laughing stock and "malaise" was the operative word from the White House, "The Right Stuff" calls to mind with equal degrees of snark and awe a time when real heroes walked the earth and flew beyond and around it. Men, yes, but heroes, too. Wolfe never lets go of the human element, in fact, the best thing "The Right Stuff" has going for it.
   
   As a non-fiction novel, it has its limitations, too. Wolfe doesn't make up quotes, he hardly quotes the seven Mercury astronauts at the center of the story, except for flight transcripts and press conferences where their words are public record. But he doesn't seem to channel theirs or anyone else's voices, except Wolfe's own.
   
   Beginning with the book's title, he uses a lot of terms to capture what the early U.S. space program, and the test flights on experimental jets leading up to it, were really about. Terms like "the great ziggurat" "flying & drinking and drinking & driving", "true brother", "the mighty integral", often in caps, get a lot of use even though there's no sign anyone ever used them or even thought them up before Wolfe did.
   
   There's an overall tone of omnipotence that feels smug and gets in the way: Never mind what was going through John Glenn's mind when he was wondering if Friendship 7's heat shield had burned up on atmospheric reentry - here's what he REALLY MUST have thought!
   
   But the book is so entertaining, it really compensates for Wolfe's excesses. The astronauts were not breaking new ground; everything they did the Soviets did too, except sooner and for longer durations. But they were putting their lives on the line as investments toward a larger purpose, an achievement no other country has matched in close to 40 years, landing on the moon. And they were also disproving the notion that Americans after World War II were doomed to failure, that "our boys always botch it" mentality which hung over the country at the time (and which by 1979 was back with a vengeance).
   
   Sharp, funny, and full of graspable insights (the riders of the first Mercury capsules had as much control over their craft as does a Ferris-wheel rider), "The Right Stuff" may settle for entertainment over enlightenment, but it is very entertaining.



5. In the years following WWII and Korea as the military graduated to fighter jets a certain hierarchy of talent developed. At the top of the pyramid were those in "flight test," where pilots with a certain indefinable something went to push the limits of the newest and most advanced jets. Landing several tons of metal atop a heaving and pitching aircraft carrier in the dark of night or "hanging your hide on the outside of the envelope" in experimental jets is a dangerous profession requiring what Mr. Wolfe calls "the Right Stuff." From Chuck Yeager, the first to exceed the speed of sound (Mach 1), to John Glenn and the other Mercury astronauts, few possess this right or "righteous stuff," and many are "left behind" on the climb up that pyramid. Mr. Wolfe introduces us to those who had it and some who died lacking it, as well as the competition of the "Space Race" of the 60s, and does so with a very distinct style that conveys the attitude of those who possessed it. The missions of the Mercury astronauts are covered in particular detail and sort of form the pinnacle of this story, from the enormous egos of some to the petty jealousies and politics that played out behind the perfect facade Life Magazine presented to the nation.
   
   In fact, the most singular aspect of this book for me would be the style with which it is written, dripping with the huge egos and arrogance of the pilots. Theirs is a dangerous job with few monetary rewards, requiring them to sacrifice family life and comfort, but carrying a thrill few people will ever experience. This, Mr. Wolfe explains, results in a feeling of superiority which he portrays excellently with his writing. And he conveys this attitude with certain phrases he uses repeatedly throughout, such as the "right stuff" or "flying & drinking, and drinking & driving," or the "Friend of Widows and Orphans," etc. It becomes a kind of shorthand for the concepts within the fraternity of pilots and their families. It's very interesting to learn of the lives and successes and defeats, particularly Chuck Yeager and John Glenn. But it is also this style which began to wear on me after a while - on the one hand the story is incredibly interesting, but on the other I got really tired of reading it and couldn't wait to just be done with the book. Also, the language of the book is pretty coarse, and hardly a page goes by that doesn't have several profanities or vulgarities, so be forewarned if you're bothered by that. But a fascinating story nonetheless and I can't wait to watch the movie now.

5 comments about The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space.

1. Gene Cernan's detailed, autobiographical account of his personal and career Naval aviator, then NASA experiences, first as a Navy test pilot, then as a Gemini and two time Apollo Astronaut. A great read for those of us that missed out on the decade of the 60s space race, culminating in six successful, history making U.S. astronaut manned explorations of the Moon. Mr. Cernan's contributions toward that end were significant and certainly most memorable was his final space flight as Mission Commander of Apollo 17; the mission that began spectacularly as the only night time launch of the gargantun Saturn V rocket and ended with the last American flag, Lunar Rover and footprints left in the Tarrus Littrow Valley of the Moon in December 1972. Accounts of Dr. Rock, Harrison Schmidt, the only civilian scientist to visit the Moon, and their jubilently described 70+ hours of EVA, lunar dig sites and geological finds are lengendary. Gene Cernan and all the other astronauts of that era, both U.S. and Russian, all incredibly brave men made of the "right stuff", shall always be remembered as histories earliest spaceflight pioneers and the original explorers of the Cosmos. BRAVO!!!



2. This book is all about Cernan and nothing about what
   it was like to go to the moon. The man is almost
   completely inarticulate, but what he lacks there,
   he makes up for in ego. You will learn nothing about
   the wonder of space flight from this book. I'm going
   to follow the reviews of others and read the Collins
   and Bean books.



3. What a great read. Parts of this book was a bit hokey, but I really enjoyed the book. Based on what I've read in other material about NASA, Gene was one of the most liked astronauts. What a great guy. A must read. I've read a lot of material and books on the Mecury thru Apollo missions, and I think the best I've read was Micheal Collins "Carrying the Fire" this lends itself to great detail and leaves you with a good education.
   
   KLD



4. Some people may be disappointed by this book. There's very little about Commander Cernan's time on the surface of the moon. If that's all you want to know about, I'd still recommend the book but you'll only want to read a couple of chapters. But to buy the book for that reason would be to miss the point. This is the story of the man that was last to stand on the moon. The moon was his home for 3 days. For a guy over 70 years old, that's not a large period of his life, even if it is what history will remember him for. This is what it was like to be an astronaut for NASA at that time and that's all you need to know, and it's personal, heart warming, fun, exciting, distressing, stressful and sad, just like real life.
   In 2007 I got the opportunity to meet Gene Cernan and had the pleasure of sharing dinner with him. He told me this book was the best way to know what it was like to be on the moon.
   And he's right, in every way. It describes many years of hard work, dedication, hardship and sacrifice, for a short period of time in which he was kept so busy he had to treasure the moments where he could take it all in.
   It is a testament to the quality of writing that my opinions of Commander Cernan are the same now, after reading the book as they were when I bade him farewell. He's a genuine, pull no punches guy. I don't think his heart is on his sleeve but he'll say what he thinks.
   I was honoured to spend a time in company with Commander Gene Cernan and get to know him. Reading this book, you will get to know him too.
   Read this book. It describes the pinnacle of human achievement and how it was done. The men, the women, the engineers, the scientists, the emotion, the humanity. It's all here and it makes you proud to be part of humanity because we may not be perfect, but neither were they.
   
   It's magnificent!



5. I liked this book for its coverage of all the space flights from the beginning with Gemini to the end with Apollo. Gene was in fact the "last man on the moon" as we stopped going to the moon after his flight! He did more in his lifetime than most anyone. He started as a Navy pilot, about to go into Vietnam, when he got pulled for astronaut duty. I liked reading his descriptions of the celebrity lifestyle the original astronauts lived, with lots of parties at the Cape in Florida (while the wives were banished to their homes outside Houston!). I thought he touched on what it was like for the wives to live with a larger-than-life "space hero" in their midst, but he pulled back in some places. He does give his opinion on all the famous astronauts like Al Shephard and Neil Armstrong, and what he thought of their personalities and also their ranking as far as the best of the astronauts. The only downside to the book was, because Gene was involved in so many space flights, both as a backup crew and regular crew, that by the time you get to his last moon flight it's a bit routine hearing once again about getting the rocket ready for launch, stuffing themselves into their bulky spacesuits, etc. Overall, the book is very thorough and good but maybe could have used more humorous stories. I also liked the very beginning of the book where he talks about his grandparents old-time farm in Antigo, WI, without any running water or electricity.

5 comments about Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965 (Outward Odyssey: A People's History of S).

1. Samuel Taylor Coleridge provides the quote that lends its name to the first of a planned ten-volume series chronicling the Space Age. I believe that Francis French and Colin Burgess have chosen well, as Into that Silent Sea, Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965, is one of the most evocative titles about flying into space I can recall. A good title certainly tells a lot about a work, and this is especially true in this case.
   
   Into that Silent Sea trades between the two sides of the superpower race to the Moon, giving us a wonderful behind the scenes glimpse from Yuri Gagarin's first foray into the cosmos to the harrowing spacewalk of Alexei Leonov, from the competition to be first at Cape Canaveral to limping through a day in Gordo Cooper's dying Mercury capsule.
   
   Burgess' and French's two writing styles mesh easily, and the book speaks with one authoritative voice. The space travelers and others written about in the book have shared their stories and given us all a peek beyond what we are used to seeing.
   
   It is a unique work in that it presents both sides of the race in a clear and succinct manner while giving us real astronauts and cosmonauts, many never before discussed in Western press. The closest comparison would have to be Two Sides of the Moon, by Dave Scott and Alexei Leonov. However wonderful that book is, it doesn't compare with the French and Burgess work in that we examine many more spacefarers than just the one American and one Russian, and put it all in the context of the flights as they occurred.
   
   If I have to find fault with the work, there are two things that come to mind. First, is the lack of an index to aid in searching for the people and incidents that interest us the most. Second, is the paucity of photographs. The space race was a visual feast, in that it showed people racing above the planet, yet most of the photos are simple head shots of the people talked about in the text. Most people today have probably never even seen one of the grainy shots of Leonov's first-ever spacewalk, so things of that nature would have added immensely to the impact of the book. I hope that in future volumes, more effort will be made to include historic and little-seen photos to illustrate the text.
   
   We've read stories and seen movies, documentary and otherwise, that have supposedly told us the inside scoop. As the first in the Outward Odyssey series, I believe Into that Silent Sea will be viewed in the future as the one that led the way to what could prove to be the definitive story of the people involved in our rise to the challenge of spaceflight.



2. A MUST READ!!! French and Burgess really know how to sum up the early space program and make it completely relivable. For previous generations who were not around to partake in the early threads of space exploration this book will take them into that silent sea.
   
   This book would make an excellent documentary covering all the brilliant aspects of the beginnings of our space program. A fantastic journey and pleasure to read, I got to relive this pinnacle of time in the history of space exploration. GREAT STUFF!!! Dorice Odell



3. I am an Apollo astronaut who entered the space program in 1966, and I knew and worked with most of the Americans that are profiled in this book. In the intervening years I have met most of the Russians also profiled. I was in the space business for many years, including making a flight to the moon on Apollo 15 in 1971, ten years after Alan Shepard made his historic flight. This book is a wonderful history of the original pioneers in space. I could not put it down once I started. French and Burgess have a great touch when it comes to writing. I found it especially interesting when reading about the Russian program and the men and women selected for their spaceflights. The book clearly and engrossingly explains the differences between the Russian Cosmonauts and the American Astronauts, including fascinating personal details of how they were selected, trained and carried on their flights. I found the book a great source of new information that was both well documented and thoroughly fascinating to read - in fact, I believe it is deserving of winning some awards. Before I flew in space, these men and women in America and Russia paved the way and were my personal heros. If you want to know who they were, then this is the book.



4. This book is probably one of the best books i have ever read. Very rarely a book comes along that you just can't put down. This is one of those. There have been thousands of book about this era is spaceflight but only a handfull really stick out. At first i was skeptical as to what this book would be, but as soon as i started reading it i knew that i loved it. Get this book along with In the Shadow of the Moon. You will not be dissapointed.



5. A must read for anyone with a love of Space, Astronauts, etc. Very well written.

5 comments about The Way of the Explorer: An Apollo Astronaut's Journey Through the Material and Mystical Worlds.

1. Apollo 14 was one of the few missions that I know litle about; simply because not enough time and attention has been dedicated to it! Dr. Ed Mitchell,Apollo 14 lunar module pilot, tells us in a very open way his inner-most feelings about the mission to The Moon, and how it altered his life,and inner ways of thinking; regarding life and the universe! Telling the reader that what he felt and saw: during, and mainly after his return to Earth; how our universe couldn't have just happened,but rather, has a special purpose and significance and a meaning to its existence! i believe in God, and have heard many pros and cons said about this book! Well let me say that as a true believer in CHRIST and GOD, I feel that Dr. Mitchell has a very open and well-educated mind as a scientist/explorer; and merely tells us that there is in fact a creator, and a purpose for the creation of the universe, and a reason for its being; relating science/religion together,which, to me, makes a whole lot of good sense.and purpose, to those of us that are real thinkers and have a real open mind to the things around us in the whole universe; not just planet Earth! Dr. Mitchell should know, hes been there (MOON) AND DONE THAT! i'M VERY RELIGIOUS INWARDLY, AND STILL THINK YOUR BOOK IS WELL DONE! Good job Dr. Mitchell! Your one of the few very open-minded/rational good thinkers of the century! If only more would have your intellect, mayby we wouldnt have the world problems we have today, and would have already had a base on Moon, and missions to Mars, already underway!



2. Dr. Mitchell asks the same questions as all seekers, and rightly connects the search for knowledge about self with the search for an understanding of the universe. He begins his book with a short personal history, bringing the reader up to a description of his incredible journey to the moon. As a US Apollo astronaut, he walked on the lumar surface. During the journey back to earth, he experienced a sudden insight about the nature of reality, an understanding that came from an unknown source. The experience most resembled the reports of mystics, who generally ascribe a religious meaning to it. Mitchell has spent the years since that journey searching for a way to understand the experience, a way to bring together the disparate ways of knowing, the way of science and the way of religion.

   While it is fascinating to read his descriptions of the view of earth from space and to know that seeing our beautiful mother earth from that vantage point could trigger such insights, what Mitchell describes is an experience many, many people have, as he later came to realize. It is the experience of "knowing without knowing how you know." Sometimes the knowing concerns the nature of reality, as when you get the sense of the unity of all things, and sometimes it is a psychic insight, as in knowing someone has just died. Sometimes it is the amazing synchronicities that happen when you cease to believe they cannot happen.

   This source of knowledge is real, so how does it work? There is no accepted scientific answer. At least there wasn't until Mitchell took on the task and gave us his dyadic theory of reality. It is an interesting explanation. The universe, in this view, evolved not just from energy but always incorporated intention. Consciousness is inherent in the universe and that is why, in the mystical experience, everything seems alive. There is no difference between the consciousness of my aloe plant on the windowsill, my cat who purrs beside me, and me. We use consciousness differently perhaps, but my plant grows better when I love it and want it to grow, I somehow know when my cat is outside the front door and wants to come in, and I use my consciousness to read books and learn more about my world. But the me that is sitting here looking out at everything else is victim of an illusion. It is only through working at techniques to shut out externals that it is possible to gain some realization of the unity, or to put it another way, to access the web that connects everything and that is the actual source of the knowledge that comes to us in these "mystical" experiences.

   Dr. Mitchell's book takes us into heavy material, not always easy to grasp, and sometimes possessing its own assumptions. He seems intent on eliminating religious metaphors completely, as if providing an explanation that "works" means there is no longer a use for the concept of God. I have to agree with him that the long-standing practice of representatives of religious organizations of dismissing anything without a scientific explanation as "a miracle of God" (or sometimes as "the work of the devil") has retarded our ability to scrutinize any actual process at work. Likewise, it isn't helpful when scientists simply dismiss anything that doesn't fit their current understanding of reality -- Uri Geller must be a fraud because science can't explain how he bends those spoons. And since Uri is not a saintly person, it must not be "a miracle."

   Because "God" is used to cover everything for which there is no scientific explanation does not invalidate the concept of a supreme presence, just as science is not useless even though it is intolerant of alternate explanations. It seems to me Mitchell neglects the idea of "purpose" just as he does not accept reincarnation, suggesting the past lives remembered are the result of accessing the universal web, the holographic record of everything (much like Edgar Cayce's "Akashic Record"). Could this be just a semantic difference, if we are all part of the same consciousness? While Mitchell's concepts "fit" the essentially religious experiences of those who believe in the immortality of the soul, it does not encompass the soul's purpose of perfecting itself through lifetimes of spiritual growth.

   As I read this book, I found Mitchell has read the same authors I've read, and he mentions the same cast of characters with whom seekers are familiar, whether they write from a research, mystical or physics point of view. His desire to reconcile science and religion is the same desire many of us share. The journey inward is as worthwhile as the journey to other planets. Our yearning to know who we are can only be satisfied when we truly achieve the synthesis Dr. Mitchell seeks. You'll have to read and decide if Mitchell, as an explorer extraordinaire, has found the answer.




3. What I admire most about Ed Mitchell isn't his voyage to the moon. While that extraordinary feat places him in one of history's most exclusive brotherhoods, it was only the beginning of an ongoing journey of questions and greater questions. Someone else in his position might have spent the remainder of his life resting on his laurels. Mitchell tackles huge questions with a scientist's rigor and a seeker's open heart.



4. I would tell anyone up front that this is a very in depth book. It covers a lot of truly amazing subject matter, from placing healers in scientific laboratory environments to understanding our place in the universe. I was impressed with not only the personal experiences told throughout but also with the differing aspects of how our cultures view the same experiences. It was fairly technical in parts, so be prepared to be challenged while reading it. I wasn't very familiar with many of the concepts discussed but the author did a good job of managing the information.



5. In February 1971 Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell sensed the deliberate plan in the creation of the cosmos and space: for over thirty years he would explore the mystery of human consciousness, leaving NASA to form the Institute of Noetic Sciences and researching a theory that could explain consciousness and science alike. His memoir comes to life in THE WAY OF THE EXPLORER: AN APOLLO ASTRONAUT'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE MATERIAL AND MYSTICAL WORLDS, which appears in a revised edition to appeal to new audiences.

5 comments about Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut.

1. WOW!!!!!!!!!! Want to know what it's really like to be inside the Shuttle astronaut program... this is your book!! Col. Mullane gives us a true inside feel for what it's like to be an STS astronaut. Hardly a page went by that I didn't laugh out loud!! Oh dear... I also found out that I too am from Plant AD!!



2. This not the normal book about space adventure; it tells the real story with true humor. Enjoy!



3. This was an amazing book! Extremely entertaining from start to finish. An honest, in-depth account of the early space shuttle program is overdue and Mike created just that. With 3 flights under his belt, Mike is more than qualifed to tell this story. I highly recommend this book.



4. What an incredible book. A real page turner. An honest and personal account of the shuttle program.



5. This was a surprising read. I loved this book, but it has two very distinct sides. One is funny, self-confident, brash, accomplished. The other is grim, unsure, depressing, an expose of institutional politics and culture at it's soul (and life) destroying worst. It's not all photo ops and champange. This is why I like it and yet sometimes found it hard to read. From childhood to semi-retirement, this is about a person, the flaws he honestly admits to, and the not so 'Leave it to Beaver' world he lives in. The first part was very entertaining and anecdotal- very funny. The second was more interesting and down to the nitty gritty: an inside account of what NASA was like, and still may be like. It also exposes how the media, and having to deal with the media, changes how people respond and behave. The true stresses of this kind of life and career are huge. It wasn't the book I thought it would be, but I am very glad to have read it.

5 comments about Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys.

1. I read this when it was first published, and read it again twice. It's wonderful - it gives you a sense of what the astronaut program was like, what it was intended to do, and what it did. And above all, a great appreciation for pioneers - anyone who's willing to go into the unknown.



2. Having read a lot from Gemini-thru Apollo, this is by far the best book yet. Collins and the writter do such a great job on details and made for an very interesting read. I wish he would have gone into more detail about him being the only one in the CM when Armstrong and Aldren were on the surface of the moon. To me, that had to be a very interesting place to be. I thought it was great Charles Lindberg wrote a few things in the front of the book. I can add, in addition to this book having read "Failure is not an option" by Gene Krantz add a back drop of technical data to support what these guys did. Seeing how this all works from mission controlls end is a good knowledge to have. Again, a great read and highly recomend it for your library.
   
   Micheal Collins, you were the ticket home.
   
   KLD



3. I've read a fair number of books on Apollo, but not very many astronaut biograpies. I chose this one mostly because of its good reviews on this page!
   
   It's definitely well written, surprisingly humorous, and full of fascinating details on the Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 mission that I had never heard about. (His short descriptions of the other astronauts are particularly funny.)
   
   His book really answers the question: What would it really be like to fly critical missions during the space race? To work with other famous astronauts (not just Neil and Buzz but also John Young)? He makes his nuanced and deep emotions clear throughout, giving the book an "everyman's" perspective.
   
   Can't recommend this one enough.



4. The best (and one of the earliest) book by an Apollo astronaut. Very witty, with candid appraisals of other astronauts. Actually written by the astronaut himself. A must for anyone interested in the Apollo program.



5. I was reading Deke! By Donald K. (Deke) Slayton and Michael Cusset. Deke Slayton was the highly respected chief astronaut and godfather to the astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions; In this book, I noted a positive reference to Michael Collins's book Carrying The Fire so I figured this as a must read.
   Michael Collins takes the reader through the stages of astronaut training and spaceship design and his own flights of Gemini 10 and the pioneering Apollo 11 with self- depreciating humour and irony. He manages to present a great amount of technical detail in an easily understood fashion in an articulate, intelligent, flowery, almost British manner.
   With a forward by Charles Lindbergh himself, this book is nearly 500 pages but seems only half that by the man who stood station 60 miles above Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on that historic first lunar landing.