4 comments about My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer.

1. Anousheh Ansari's book, "My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer" tells a very human and family story worthy of readership by those interested in either human passion or space flight. It is an excellent premier for any person who has had a dream of success or even imagined flying aboard the International Space Station. I enjoyed the story it told of Anousheh and Hamid. I have had the good fortune and honor of meeting them both in New Mexico; and, Anousheh again in Arlington, VA. at a FAA/AST conference.
   
   It is my judgment, however, that the best Anousheh Ansari book is yet to be written - that entitled "Anousheh Ansari: The Space Entrepreneur." One of my more favorite passages of "My Dreams of Stars" is about a series of conversations between Anousheh and astronaut Thomas Reiter about the role of government and the commercial space launch sector in the future of human space travel. It is a story still being written at the White House, on Capitol Hill, at Cape Canaveral, at Wallops Island, in the Mojave Desert, or some struggling private space propulsion research laboratory.
   
   Anousheh Ansari should be ecouraged to do yet another new book. A new book by her should be focused outreach to business entrepreneurs in the United States and around the world --- an idea she started with the Ansari X-Prize. She has the proven business acumen to tell such a story with the proven "Keys to Success" of a Space Entrepreneur.
   
   "My Dreams of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer" is but an opening chapter in the real story now unfolding. Anousheh Ansari is in a unique position to be the ultimate Space Entrepreneur Advocate and New Space business implementer.
   
   Napoleon Hill's Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement



2. I've nothing against hagiographies,sometimes even are kind of funny,but when the author ends believing what he writes then we get something ridiculous or even pathetic....This book is part of that select class.



3. "Call this a love story" is how this beautifully written memoir begins and it is! Anousheh is a woman who has a great heart which is filled with love for her family and husband, her native Iran and her adopted United States, and her dream of going to the stars. I think readers who don't care a thing about space will enjoy this book because it's not like any book any astronaut has ever written. It's filled with emotion and great descriptive passages. I would say it's more like "A Thousand Splendid Suns" than "The Right Stuff." I think the co-author Homer Hickam might have a little to do with that. I'm a Homer fan and read all he writes. I saw him at a book signing and he said he worked really hard to bring out the heart and soul of Anousheh because what people are really interested in is other people. Bottom line is I enjoyed living Anousheh's life with her. My heart was gladdened and in these times of trouble, what more can we ask of a book? Moms, your daughters will love this story. So will you.



4. I have been reading books about space since, well, since I learned how to read. Indeed this is how I learned to really read a book - since the books I had to read in school were lame. Nearly half a century later, I have read an unknown number of books that chronicle the life stories of those who have come to be involved with the exploration of space. Every book is different yet every book is the same since the paths that people took were similar and overlapping. Some came from Nazi Germany, others from small towns in America or Russia.
   
   But until now I had not read a story of someone who aspired to touch the stars from the midst of revolution-racked Iran.
   
   Such is the story of Anousheh Raissyan - better known by her married name, Ansari. In describing "My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer" I just want to tell you all that is in it - but that is Anousheh's task - done with the deft guidance of Homer Hickam. Homer first gained notoriety as the author of "Rocket Boys" - which also chronicled an improbable journey from a poor coal mining town in West Virginia to a long career at NASA. A better guide Anousheh could not have found.
   
   The story Anousheh tells begins in an Iran that was still ruled by the Shah. All too soon the fires of revolution swept up the entire nation - not just the young men, but old people and little girls. Yet through out this tumultuous and very dangerous time, Anousheh managed to find solace albeit fleeting by looking up at the stars at night and visiting them in her mind.
   
   As I turned the pages of this book I was reminded of a time in my life when these same events in Iran affected me. I was in graduate school in the early 1980s and had an office mate who I will simply refer to as "Reza". Reza came from a wealthy family in Teheran and was studying to be a doctor when the revolution exploded. He was caught outside the country and unable to return. With no access to families assistance he as stranded in a foreign country unable to get home.
   
   I often hired Reza to work with me as a house painter. He was happy for the work and worked his butt off. I saw something in Reza that comes through clearly in this book through Anousheh's words: an unflinching determination to not let life's current troubles get in the way realizing a dream. The more dire the circumstances, it seems the more pronounced her will to push through and surmount adversity.
   
   Eventually, Anousheh and parts of her family made their way to America. Unlike many newcomers she did not isolate herself from the cacaphony of opportunity that is America. Rather, she dived right in. Meeting her husband, she and others soon accomplished the quintessential American dream when their start-up made them millionaires.
   
   Throughout it all, that dream of stars would not go away. Augmented with what Elon Musk often refers to as "non-trvial resources" Anousheh went from dreaming about stars to thinking about actually visiting them. Eventually she acted on her dream and found herself training as a backup for another commercial space traveller in Russia. An unexpected medical disqualification with the prime passenger and suddenly she was mere weeks away for a trip into space.
   
   These days when you make one of these trips, you have to do something with the nortoriety. Everyone who does this finds a different way to do it. In Anousheh's case, she was suc an improbable space traveller that there was intrinsic interest that really did not need to be generated - just channeled.
   
   During her flight she sent updates from space that were posted in a blog. The claim from her PR flaks being made was that she was the "first blogger in space". Well, I got into nit picking and jumped on that since she was emailing from space - not blogging. But over the days as her mission proceeded I saw some startling things in the comments that appeared on her site. Many were in Farsi but many were in passable English. The sentiments came through loud and clear.
   
   For this instant in time she was pulling her fellow Iranians out of their own daily troubles and bringing them up into space with her. As improbable as her own life story was up to this point it now worked like a magnet on others like her back on Earth. Eventually, I felt compelled to write a retraction of sorts - you can read it
   I go there - to that moment - when I read these words.
   
   "My Dream of Stars" is an astonishing and almost improbable but very human journey from war torn Iran to outer space. In reading this book you get the impression that if Anousheh can do something like this then anyone can.
   
   The world is changing. Inevitably, life in space will change too. Some day soon, it will no longer be the sole province of practitioners of the "Right Stuff" from a small group of rich nations. Anousheh was the one of the very first people to see this change with her own eyes - and to redefine who gets to to go - and why. I have no doubt that she will continue to be a force for change back on Earth.
   
   This is her story.
   
   Keith Cowing, editor [..]

5 comments about Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences.

1. Andrew Chaikin is one of the greatest living Apollo historians: I still hold his brilliant "A Man on the Moon" up as the single best comprehensive introduction to Apollo when recommending books on the program. In "Voices From the Moon", Chaikin and Victoria Kohl have painstakingly gone through thousands of still photos (virtually all of them are NASA official photos), and hours of motion picture imagery looking for the ideal set of photos to capture the essence of the Apollo lunar voyages from numerous vantage points.
   
   Along with the photographic challenge, Chaikin also interviewed 23 of the 24 lunar Apollo astronauts (sadly Jack Swigert died before he had the opportunity; Conrad, Shepard, Roosa, Irwin, and Evans have now passed away as well) to better understand their experiences during the program. Unlike many of these types of interviews, these interviews and the quotations from them focus on perceptions and emotions more than the technical challenges of the flights. That's what made this an invaluable book in my library: not only are the images stunning, but the quotes from the people who lived the experience are thoughtful and perfectly selected to match the photos.
   
   This is not a history of lunar exploration in any conventional sense, but it is an amazing and beautiful book full of insights and perceptions from 23 very diverse personalities. I highly recommend this book.



2. Growing up in the sixties, the American space program strode in contrast alongside the unraveling of a great many institutions and notions of what the USA was, what it stood for and where it was going. While the Viet Nam war dragged on with nightly tallies of American dead on the news, the broadcasts of war, protests, the struggle against racism and political upheaval were peppered with nearly unimaginable feats of engineering, bravery and ingenuity.
   
   Andrew Chaikin does a wonderful job pulling together accounts of all living (at the time of the interviews) astronauts who visited the moon, either by walking on it, driving on it or waiting above it in the command module. He takes us on a journey, grabbing excerpts from interviews from all the astronauts from each step in the process of going to the moon, from training to splashdown. The resulting side-by-side comparison of the impressions and feelings of each astronaut provides a singularly unique perspective of the awesome and audacious effort of visiting the moon and returning safely.
   
   Readers may be shocked to learn of the diversity of personalities that NASA chiefs chose for these spectacular missions. It would be difficult to pin down any but the most general characteristics that made these men suitable for the tasks at hand. Yes, they were all highly intelligent, but beyond that, the reader soon discovers that beyond the "right stuff" test pilot bluster, there are real men with real feelings (even abject fear) who, as much as in spite of what they knew as because of what they knew, left the safety and comfort of earth for the dangerous and forbidding vacuum of space.
   
   With all the voices recalling their experiences at each phase of the journey, it becomes clear why Neil Armstrong was chosen for his role at the tip of the spear. His demeanor is nearly completely void of excitement, shock, wonder or any other strong emotion as recounted in his interview. He was the absolute prototype of cool under pressure. Even with only seconds of fuel left in the descent engine and boulders the size of Volkswagens in his landing area, only his heart monitor knew that he wasn't just backing into a spot at the grocery store.
   
   Chaikin does a great job pulling together all of these impressions in what could have been an editing mess or a simple collection of interviews from each astronaut. The images are absolutely breathtaking and well explained, as are many details and facts that may have puzzled the reader for years, such as, "Why don't we see stars in the sky on the moon?" The only negative point about this work is that 100% of the type is white on a black background which may give some readers a hard time. Beyond that, the book deserves the five stars I'm giving it based on the original approach, the uniqueness of the content and the perspective it brings to an amazing time in U.S. history.



3. The book is thick, with a dust cover and the pages are very sturdy. The photos are beautiful and the interviews are very touching. Just lifting this book from the Amazon packaging gave me great pride in our country. Travel to the moon?
   
   I cannot attest to the truth or the facts in the book, but I can state confidently that this is one of the best space coffee table books that I've found.
   
   I bought this book as a gift to my father who has wanted to fly to the moon since he was a small kid. He is now almost 50 and I'm afraid he won't be able to attain his dream. However, he does work in the rocket expertise and he has been obsessed with space and the moon since as far back as I can remember. This is a fantastic gift for him. I KNOW he is going to love it.
   
   My fiance, after seeing the book, also wants a copy. :)
   
   Fantastic buy. I was pleasantly surprised.



4. When the Apollo astronauts describe their Lunar Experiences
   their words are sometimes profound and sometimes profane.
   But you always want to hear what they say.
   After all, they are the select few who has actually seen
   another world up close. And knows what our world is
   really like in the vastness of space.
   
   Exactly, because they dont claim to be poets (rather they are men
   doing a job) I get awestruck when they describe
   their experience out there in the awesome universe.
   
   Photos in the book, all in the highest resolution of color and detail,
   helps hammer the message home:
   
   We, human beings, belong out there. It is our future and our
   destiny. These men took the first steps. Lets get
   ready to join them!
   
   -Simon



5. This is not a comprehensive history of the Apollo program. There are several books that are written about that. This is a first person account about what it felt like to actually be in the drivers seat on the way to the moon and on the moon. No matter how many books you read about the Apollo program there is nothing like getting the description in the astronaut's own words and that is what this book does. It was captivating to hear what the astronauts were feeling and what was going through their heads as they left earth and landed on the moon. Out of all the books I have read on the Apollo program this book was the closes thing to sharing the emotions that the astronauts themselves felt. A great book to experience. The pictures in the book was just the icing on the cake to enhance the experience even more.

5 comments about Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon.

1. There is another autobiography available to Amazon shoppers from the pen of Buzz Aldrin, "Return to Earth." Released in 1973, the first account gives us some inkling into the astronaut's difficulties upon his return to earth from the historic Apollo XI moon landing of 1969. One might say that the astronaut's disclosure of his stresses in 1973 was an attempt at closure, albeit a premature one. Unfortunately for Aldrin, in some ways his troubles were just intensifying. Astronaut Jim Lovell quipped on a television commentary some years ago, "Who remembers the second guy to fly solo across the Atlantic?" By all accounts Aldrin's status as second man down the ladder behind Neil Armstrong troubled him at the time of the moon landing and, as it turned out, for a long time afterward.
   
   There is ambivalence in the very title "Magnificent Desolation," as it is not clear whether the phrase refers to outer space or Aldrin's inner space. Aside from a splendid narrative of his role in Apollo XI that opens the book, this is a work about the astronaut's adventures and misadventures post 1969, of which he had plenty of both. Little could he know, in 1973, that his first autobiography was not the final word, but simply a milepost along a hard road to health and wholeness.
   
   Aldrin was an alcoholic, most likely before Apollo XI and certainly afterward, but the astronaut corps of the time was a hard drinking fraternity in which excess of that sort was scarcely visible. Moreover, his outstanding R&D efforts involving extravehicular dexterity on his Gemini XII flight with Lovell in 1966 made him respected, if not loved, within NASA, and his personal issues never seemed to have crossed the Apollo XI radar, except to the degree that NASA's inner circle did give considerable thought to his working relationships; the unflappable Armstrong proved to be the best fit for the overachieving, self-confident, and somewhat arrogant Aldrin. However, the challenge of post-Apollo life worried Aldrin and in the midst of the world-wide media frenzy after the moon flight , the famous `first man on the moon" stamp--bearing Neil Armstrong's image alone--was unveiled, reopening a long festering wound and sparking new excuses for self indulgence.
   
   But beyond alcohol and hurt feelings, Aldrin simply did not know what to do with himself. He envied Armstrong's contentment with pure engineering and his gradual withdrawal to academic life. He became vaguely aware that his problems might be emotional in nature, even raising the issue of astronaut psychology obliquely to a conference of aerospace doctors. Most readers will recognize his symptoms as depressed mood; the difficulty then was incredulity among his friends and caregivers--including Aldrin himself--that a celebrated moonwalker could be so afflicted. Between depression and alcoholism, he embarked upon a series of impulsive, indulgent, and ill-advised decisions, including divorcing his wife and serving as something of an absentee landlord at Edwards Air Force Base, where he headed the test pilots' school. Sensing deterioration, in 1973, four years after Apollo XI, Aldrin decided to write his tell-all book about his depression and marital difficulties, though without mention of his drinking.
   
   Aldrin's drinking continued unabated for the next half-dozen years. His self-report of the drinking years in this work is sadly similar to that of millions of alcoholics, except that as a member of the Apollo XI crew his trouble was fairly public knowledge. A period of sobriety led to a made-for-TV movie, after which the astronaut returned to drinking. At one point, a mere five years after Apollo XI, he was reduced to selling cars--and failed at that.
   
   Many astronauts were profoundly and deeply affected by their Apollo moon excursions, not just Aldrin. Jim Irwin's post-flight quixotic search for Noah's Ark is one of the best known of a series of remarkable transformations. For Aldrin, depression and substance abuse--the latter finally brought under control in October, 1978--were in some respects the tip of the iceberg of his restless difficulties. For a man of high intelligence and technological brilliance, Aldrin was also highly imaginative and carried an entrepreneur's gene or two in his DNA. Perhaps of all the astronauts he best realized the unthinkable technical achievement of the Apollo Program, and grieved its eventual demise--less over his own future opportunities than for what we might call the humanitarian/scientific opportunities of the human species.
   
   Aldrin reveals himself as a "big picture" sort of guy. He discloses this about himself almost unwittingly, from his narrative of the projects, visions, and ideas he has expounded to about anyone who would listen, down to the present day. He designed, for example, a concept he called "the cycler," a means of using permanent orbiting space vehicles as "shuttlers" between the earth and the moon, and eventually Mars. But the Martian cycler best illustrates Aldrin's frustration: NASA's Tom Paine told him in 1984 that taxpayers would not fund such ventures, and as Aldrin himself ruefully admits, he began to earn a reputation as a guy with "harebrained ideas." [180]
   
   Gradually Aldrin came down to earth, figuratively speaking, through the 1980's, indebted in no small part to the energy and affection of his second wife, and gradual improvement in the treatment of his chronic depression. Although ever the wide-eyed enthusiast, he seemed to come to peace with a recreated persona as general spokesman for the exploration of space. He kept himself in the public eye, appearing on multiple television programs and interviews, including "The Simpsons." His lifestyle appeared to some as self-aggrandizement, but in my view his behavior spoke more of "don't forget me and my profession." At the end of the day, the reader is more likely to conclude that Aldrin, considering his inner demons, warts, and a uniquely perplexing place in the history books, is no defiant space cowboy, but rather, a complex man who struggled in black-and-white worlds.



2. Why did Pixar name one of its most colorful characters Buzz Lightyear? Maybe Buzz Lightyear brings Buzz Aldrin to mind? Sorry. Pixar's Buzz is light years ahead of the other one.



3. First of all, I almost never give up reading a book before I finish it. There's been only a handful of books in my entire life that I haven't stuck with to the bitter end. I must now add another title to that short, undistinguished list--"Magnificent Desolation." I gave up about half way into it. It is poorly written, sickeningly self-serving and just plain boring. Worst of all, for a book allegedly written by an actual spacefarer who was a key player in mankind's greatest adventure, it has a disturbing number of technical errors. For example, the Apollo Service Module had one main engine, not "engines," and Chuck Yeager never flew the X-15. Certainly Dr. Aldrin knows better. Thus it's hard for me to believe that he had very much to do with writing this book. It's hard for me to believe that he ever even READ it.
   
   I think there is also a lot of blatantly egocentric rewriting of history going on here. Yes, it is an autobiography, and yes, it should rightly focus on whatever parts of Dr. Aldrin's life he chooses to reveal. However, reading "Magnificent Desolation" gives the impression that no one at NASA other than Dr. Aldrin ever came up with a useful idea about spaceflight. Back in the Apollo days, NASA was perhaps the best example of the quintessential "team" that has ever existed in human history. That is not apparent in the first part of the book. It's "I developed this" and "I suggested this" and "I made the world's first successful spacewalk" and "I did this" and "I did that" and so on, ad nauseating infinitum. It's really tiring after a while, especially to readers who appreciate the real magnitude and diversity of the team effort that put men on the moon. Other reviewers mention how, later in the book, the globe-trotting Dr. Aldrin name-drops his way through the celebrity "A-list." I'll take their word for it. I didn't have the interest or the intestinal fortitude to read further and find out for myself.
   
   I knew before I started reading it that "Magnificent Desolation" is not a book about spaceflight. It is mostly about the personal challenges that Dr. Aldrin faced after he "returned to Earth." But I expected that the spaceflight parts would at least be impeccably accurate. They're not, and that led me to mistrust every other word in the book, and I concluded that I was wasting my time reading it. If the story of Dr. Aldrin's depression and alcoholism is something you're interested in, you might find "Magnificent Desolation" of some value. But I certainly can't recommend it to any real space "buff."



4. I'm a big fan of Buzz Aldrin and the space program in general, but I was disappointed by this book. The first part about the moon landing was interesting, and there were some interesting tidbits about how he felt during the whole thing.
   
   The second part about his struggles back on Earth, and the end of his first marriage, are also interesting, although somewhat flat. That period of his life had to be deeply emotional for him, yet he relays the story as if he was reading the weather report. Mr. Aldrin is clearly an emotionally reserved man, which makes the fact that he even attempted this book something of an accomplishment. The story is interesting as far as it goes, but lacks any real depth.
   
   The third part of the book, about his current wife Lois and his current jet-setting lifestyle, is the most disappointing. Buzz spends pages at a time essentially telling us about all of the celebrities he is close personal friends with, and how wonderful Lois is. However, he continues to break the cardinal rule of storytelling, in that he constantly tells us without really showing us. He keeps saying Lois is great, but never really gives us any real window into their lives together except to describe her apparent role as his business manager. His laundry list of celebrity acquaintances quickly becomes tedious, and comes across as bragging more than anything else. Buzz is an American hero in his own right, and it's puzzling why he feels the need to name drop to such a degree.
   
   I think no less of Mr. Aldrin for attempting this book, but in the final analysis, it's so much less than it could have been.



5. While the first chapters to the moon and back were a good read, it's all space junk from there.
   
   Buzz's prattling about his pop-culture status, his perky wife, her hair colour and how she sounds like everyone's mother on those mornings when we'd just like to pull the covers over our head - "Buzz Aldrin, you get out of that bed this instant!" - was this written during a full moon?
   
   Mrs. Aldrin, next time Buzz wants to jump out of bed with memoir-writing on his mind, will you please just keep him there?

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

1. This is the biography I've read from the Apollo program (The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space and Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys) and each one, truly, has offered different insight than the others. Unlike the other two, which were autobiographies, First Man is a biography.
   
   What's Good:
   Detailed and new insight into the space program and the life and training of an astronaut, both before and after his time as an astronaut. The author did well relating Armstrong's pre-Apollo life and tying it all together so the reader could fully appreciate how one life experience benefited others. Unlike the Collins and Cernan books, First Man delved more into the technology and engineering aspects, but not so much as to make it unreadable or academic. One of the more interesting parts was how Armstrong dealt with the sudden celebrity that began when he was announced as the commander of Apollo 11 and continues even today. He shows throughout his life that he was not a hero, in the sense of one who goes above and beyond the call of duty. He was, rather, the consumate engineer and worker. He did what he was told, he excelled at it, and he offered what he could, in the true spirit of a test pilot, to make it better. His modesty is genuine and indicative of his work ethic and character, both as an individual and as an astronaut.
   
   What's Not so Good:
   This book was written by a history professor and many parts of the books seemed to say "Look how thorough my research was!" The book could easily have been much shorter without the unecessary detail provided by the author. My biggest problems with the book were two-fold: (1) The author admits towards the end that even the title of the book is antithetical to who and what Neil Armstrong is and was. Armstrong has always been a man of confident modesty who never saw himself as anyone special, but rather a member of a very special venture. To spend over 600 pages building the man up to something that the subject himself would resist is contradictory to the man about which he is writing. (2) I felt that author regarded Armstrong's crewmate, Buzz Aldrin, condescendingly and disrespectfully, while at the same time building up Armstrong into a near deity. Aldrin and Armstrong (and even Collins) were all very disparate personalities, and attempting to make any comparison is weak at best. From the way the author recounts the Apollo 11 mission and training, Aldrin comes across as a liability, buffoonish, immature, petty and highly individualistic. To be fair, though, not all the treatment of Aldrin was like this - some good insight was rendered regarding his personal demons, battles and strugles, but very little showed any significant contribution that Aldrin made to the Apollo 11 program - as though he was merely riding in the side-car of a motorcycle. I also found the issue of who took photographs of whom to be a particularly petty argument to be made by the author.
   
   All in all, however, I enjoyed the book. Having been born in 1969, I missed they heyday of the Apollo and US Space programs. It is truly fascinating to all-but experience what it was like to be so intimately involved in the space program of the 60s. I would definitely recommend the book.



2. This book has got to be one of the best written Astronaut books. Mr Hansen did a great job. Its a thick long book but reads well.
   
   I wasn't interested In Neil Armstrong's ancestry so the first two chapters to me were not interesting. After that the book is great and gets better and better. I'll just say a little on the book. Its much much more detailed with more interesting facts. We all know he was the first man on the Moon but he was very quite about it compared to Buzz Aldrin.You never hear anything from Neil Armstrong. Basically he had a job to do and he did it.
   
   We see Neil's early days as a child and the religious influence from his mother. Neil was always a thinking person who would think about a problem first if he could rather than a spontaneous reaction type of person.
   
   We see his love of reading, learning and building model planes at a young age leading to his wanting to fly. We see him saving for lessons to get his private pilot license before he can drive a car. Then we see him going to college to get an engineering degree and tied into the US Navy. He is a good student but not straight A. After completing college he fulfills his contract with the Navy and becomes a fighter pilot and is with the Screaming Eagles fighter squadron on the Essex aircraft carrier during the Korean War. Neil has many hours of combat experience and is highly decorated.
   
   He becomes a jet test pilot and an experimental test pilot. He flies many many different high speed jets including the rocket plane the X15 and becomes a member of the 100,000 ft. plus club going well over mach 2. So many extreme challenges and dangerous assignments. He almost gets killed a few times and escapes death by seconds. He even flies once with Chuck Yeager and gets his jet stuck in the mud at a lake bed. Kind of embarrassing.
   
   He is selected into NASA and goes up on Gemini V111 and survives a bad tumbling of the Gemini spacecraft after docking with another spacecraft.
   
   My heart went out to Neil, Janet his wife and family when their 2 year old baby daughter dies of a brain tumor. Both Neil and Janet are crushed but somehow Neil continues with NASA. Also their home goes up in flames and Ed White their neighbor helps them get out of their burning house. Poor Ed White later dies in the Apollo 1 fire.
   
   Neil is so level headed, the thinking persons astronaut and the sort of low key, non flaming personality that can get along with anyone. He goes through so much training and training. Finally he is selected by Deke Slayton the head astronaut to be the commander of Apollo 11 and be the first man on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin with a PHD from MIT wants to be the first man on the moon and INMO makes an a** of himself trying to persuade anyone who will listen why he should be first. The higher ups in NASA say no way we want Aldrin to be the first man on the moon as the first man will be a legend for a thousand years like Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic. They wanted a level headed, non assuming mild mannered personality to be the first man on the moon. Armstrong is to be first man.
   
   We see the landing. Neil gets out first followed by Buzz. Neil's famous statement from the moon " A small step for man and a giant leap for mankind". Neil may have forgot to put the a between for and man. This statement will last a thousand years. Both Neil and Buzz do experiments and collect rock and dust samples. Neil takes pictures of Buzz but both get distracted from a talk with President Nixon and later Buzz forgets to take pictures of Neil on the moon. The only picture of Neil Armstrong on the moon is the one with Neil in the faceplate of Buzz. NO PICTURES....terrible. They do have video of Neil stepping on the moon and Neil in the shadows.
   
   Someone puts a wreath on President Kennedy's tomb saying " Mr President the Eagle has landed". I shed a tear on that one.
   
   Its explained why the flag looks like its blowing. Of course there is no air on the moon. Some conspiracy idiots still think we never landed on the moon. Its explained Neil and Buzz could not get the mast for the flag fully extended and the flag straight out and as a result the flag was partially bent and looks like its blowing. Plus they have a lot of problems getting the flag mast to stay deep enough in the fine moon dust.
   
   They almost forget to leave a disk with Earth leaders signatures and best wishes, and another memento of the two Russian Cosmonauts that died and Gus Grissom, Ed White and Chaffee who perished on Apollo 1, but in the last minutes they do leave it. One of the last things Buzz sees out the window as they leave the moon is the flag falling down.
   
   We see Mike Collins the Columbia pilot who waits in lunar orbit for Neil and Buzz to launch from the moon and rendezvous with the Columbia. Collins can't land and save them. If the Eagle doesn't lift off and get into lunar orbit Neil and Buzz are dead men.
   
   Such courage and determination by Neil, Buzz and Mike Collins. All heroes. There is much more great passages later on in the book as well as excellent pictures. This has got to be one of the best astronaut books. Mr Hansen did a great job. I learned so much about Neil Armstrong and the other astronauts, ground control members and about Neil's family. An enjoyable, exciting learning experience. Excellent book 5 stars.



3. The author provides exhaustive details on Armstrong's life. The book goes back I think five generations of Neil's ancestors. The book provides details on every mission he flew in Korea and almost every test flight. Every crash or near miss is extensively analyzed. Extensive quotes from fellow pilots on the accidents and Neil's own viewpoint are presented. The details in the first few hundred pages or so are mind numbing. The jargon and acronyms are extensive and saturate the text. I can understand that this is an authorized biography, but it is very dry in spots.
   
   However, for me, the books picks up steam when Armstrong joins the Apollo program. How the author tells the story of the moon landing is somewhat straight forward. The book meanders some, but I would encourage skimming over paragraphs so you can get Neil's quotes. I've found details here that I could find nowhere else.
   
   The author's style is readable. The jargon is intrusive, but I could muddle my way through. I strongly recommend the book. I don't think another book will be written where the author has so much access to the reclusive Armstrong, Armstrong's family and the other astronauts.



4. I found this book extra-interesting, since it's the only authorized biography of Neil Armstrong. Because of that, the people who were interviewed for the book seemed to have extra authority in shedding light on the life of a reluctant public figure. I gained a sympathy for Neil upon learning of the difficulties of being so famous. I found his life's achievements fascinating, and his good behavior refreshing.



5. I must admit that I only recently became interested in the Apollo program as it was somewhat before my time. However, I am fascinated by the life of Neil Armstrong. I recently read an article about how he is a true superstar, unlike the "Michael Jacksons" of the world. One hundred years from now, school kids will know who Neil Armstrong was and what he did. It's a great story about a man who was not seeking fame or fortune, but had it thrust upon him. However, he handled it with grace an humility. A truly remarkable man.

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

1. Working in this area, I suspect that a lot of the complaints about this book are from still-living people who don't like what's said about them. Well, sorry. Maybe people's illusions about the early astronauts have been shattered a bit. Well they were human, after all.
   .
   Anyway, what do people not want is more of "The Right Stuff", where the authors embellish about their past and keep out stuff that might make them look bad. Come on, at least this guy tells it like it was. For example, yea their were politics in the Astronaut Office, and big-time. But if you read the book, you'll see that those same politics brought out the best in those people. They trained harder, were more focused, and, in some cases, it saved their lives. Also, the complaints that he author didn't like Harrison Schmidt - these test pilots had trained for decades to get to the point where they could pilot a space ship...and then a geologist walks in off the street. Well, guess what, that geologist became an excellent astronaut, and Cernan had enough class to admit he totally misjudged this guy. This is what I want to see in a biography (and I suspect that's the case with most readers), not some dribble about how the gods placed him here for us to worship. (It's actually a great book, but I figured that there are enough 5-star reviews that mine wouldn't help there.)



2. I've read the Andrew Chaikin book, Man on the Moon, about the Apollo program and thought that it told all the secrets of the space program - Apollo, in particular. And then I bought Last Man on the Moon and learned there were so many more behind the scenes actions and happenings that influenced history to unfold the way it did. After reading this book, I am more interested in even the Gemini and Mercury missions, finding that there was so much more to those missions than I ever knew. The risks taken and dangers faced were very real on almost ever space mission we undertook. Cernan, as a veteran of Gemini and two Apollo flights, does a great job of making us realize how real it all was. He is particularly generous in his perspective on the wives of the space program and brings new insight into that aspect as well.
   
   It won't win any literary awards, but then it's not that kind of book. What it will do is put you in his place and in the middle of the height of the space program. He also does a good job of keeping things in perspective by occassionally reflecting on current events of the day, both cultural and political. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the space program leading up to and including Apollo. Cernan is candid (perhaps to a fault at times in his characterizations of other astronauts) but honest and that is what makes this book so appealing. He shows that the astronauts were real men, with real families, real strengths, real weaknesses and unique qualifications, dealing with real dangers, countless unknowns, dramatic risks, and unstoppable drive, initiative and motivation.
   
   Apollo 11 was not the beginning or even the pinnacle, as many tend to characterize it. Rather, it was, as Neil Armstrong implied, one of many steps. It was not the first step nor was it the last. And hopefully Cernan's own flight on Apollo 17 will not be the last steps for America's and the world's spirit of exploration and adventure.



3. I'm a big fan of Gene Cernan. I haven't met him, of course, but I find something interesting about his demeanor, when I see him on documentaries or news reports. He seems at peace with himself, exudes confidence but, not in a cocky way. Which is the way it should be. This book is a fun read, its not filled with technical mumbo jumbo, and moves along steady. A must for "Apollo geeks", maybe not so for aeronautical engineers.
   You pretty much get only the astronaut part of Cernan, he doesn't go into his personal life too much, not much melodrama, which is fine and I respect that because, these astronauts sacrificied family and friend in their quest for exploring. Almost all of them ended up divorced, a huge sacrifice. I couldn't have done it.
   I, as a father of two girls, was touched by his expression of love for his daughter (on the moon itself). Terrific!
   Also, Cernan comes across as a regular guy and not some brainiac we can't relate to, or talks down to you. He could be your neighbor, your softball team mate. And this from a man who walked on the moon ('nuff said), met with presidents and celebrities continously. I was a bit surprised to read his opinions on Buzz Aldrin (second man on the moon), I never knew that those opinions existed.
   
   Cernan went after his dream, "full throtle", and... reached the heavens. Thanks Geno!



4. I have just finished reading Gene Cernan's "Last Man On the Moon" for the 2nd time, and it was as good----or better----than the first time. Rather than repeat what the other 5 star reviewers stated, let me say that I have read literally thousands of books, and this has to be one the very best about America in the 1960's and 70's. He mentions all of the "horrors" of that time, the Charles Mansons, etc., but never loses track of his devotion to duty and to his family. He clearly had a deep love for his first wife Barbara and daughter Tracy, but Barbara, like so many military wives, became burned out by the never ending loneliness and fear for her husband, the travel, the partying, and the socializing.
   
   Again, I reccommend this book without reservation.



5. I didn't know much about Gene Cernan until I saw the film "In the Shadow of the Moon" and found him to be articulate, charming, thoughtful, and direct. I wanted to read more about him, and this book is a winner. It's worth reading for the description of his first spacewalk alone, but that is not the end of it. He comes across as a really classy guy and is especially frank about the cost of him being a successful astronaut on his first wife and their daughter. His tribute to his father is also very moving. Some of the stories are both hilarious and reflective. He tells a story about when he visited the White House and couldn't resist sliding down a banister. That is a great story, but he finishes it off by relating it to Andrew Jackson opening up the White House to the common people, and the horror that Jackon's contemporaries expressed. It's the combination of personal stories and literate reflection on the meaning of his life and accomplishments that I really liked. I really, really loved his descriptions of Dere Slayton Al Shepard --- not much intimidated Geno Cernan, but being assigned backup for the Ice Commander on Apollo 14 did. His integrity following his helicopter crash before Apollo 17 is also inspiring.

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

1. Prior to reading this book, I had read Gene Cernan's "Last Man on the Moon" and Andrew Chaikin's "Man on the Moon." While both are good books in their own right, and well worth reading, only Collins was able to fully allow the reader to understand what it was like to be an astronaut in the heady days of the space program. As a Gemini and Apollo astronaut, his insight is detailed, though not terribly technical, and really brings to light the many complexities of the space program. That we did what we did during those days with no mission related fatalities or even injuries (Apollo 1 was a training accident, rather than mission related - though not to minimize it)is a testament to the extensive trainint and superior professionalism of all involved with the space program. Collins is candid, thorough, honest and entertaining in his account of his days in the space program. For fans of, or those curious about, the space program, this has to be the definitive account of what it was like, how they were selected and trained, crew selection, family life, and behind the scenes happenings, as well as the actual missions. Highly, highly, highly recommended.



2. I previously owned this book in a battered, much read, paperback. This new one is bigger, which makes the included photographs much better. It's my favorite history of the Apollo flights.



3. I picked this book up based on a recommendation in Gene Weingarten's Washington Post column. I can't remember what Gene said exactly, but it had to do with people who were unexpectedly good writers, providing insight into important moments in history. Which is exactly what Carry the Fire is: a candid, funny, moving story of a bunch of "test pilot engineers" and thousands of un-named unsung heroes (including the glue-pot ladies who made sure the space suits didn't leak) managing to put two men on the moon in 1969.
   
   I am not a technical person, but I do like a good adventure story, and I am willing to accept the premise that I must learn a little science in order to enjoy the adventure. Michael Collins pulled me along into the sciences of navigation, physics, geology, etc. all with the goal of getting to the moon, and I was happy to be along for the ride.
   
   He claims to be a non-emotional kind of guy, which makes the emotions of this book all the more moving: facing and conquering the claustrophobia attendant on being in a pressure suit, delivering the worst of all possible news to one of the Apollo I wives, contemplating the very real possibility that something would happen to strand Eagle on the moon, and he would have to return to Earth alone-- all of these episodes left me sleepless on the evenings on which I read them.
   
   Lastly, I will share that I am the child of one of those thousands of people who made Michael Collins' space flight possible. I did not appreciate at the time my dad's role (or his engineering brain) which made him part of history-- I only saw a guy who went off to work at the Cape every day. I remember the day when I arrived home from school to find him at home ahead of me-- the first time ever-- washing the car, on the edge of tears. For many years, that remarkable scene was my primary impression of the disaster that was Apollo I-- something so catastrophic that my dad would come home from work early. This book helps me to frame my dad's workaholism and long absences in my childhood as part of the larger mission-- one which took many men away from their families to do something almost impossible, "in peace for all mankind."



4. This is a fantastic book. It has just the right amount of technical detail, human personalities, background information, and no-nonsense pilot talk. Definitely one of the best aviation/aerospace-related books I've ever read. This one is a keeper. Mike Collins writes well, is funny, and tells it how it was. I've got no complaints whatsoever. 5.0/5.0.



5. "Carrying The Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys" is a reprint of Michael Collins' thoughtful, bluntly honest autobiography, first published in 1974 after his retirement from the space program. This new edition was issued to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing in July 1969, and contains a new preface and afteword by the author.
   
   Michael Collins was a member of the elite fraternity of men who were jet fighter pilots, test pilots, and astronauts. But Collins was something more, a candid, reflective man with a wry wit and the writing skills to capture his experiences.
   
   Collins briefly relates his youth and his early experiences in the US Air Force. A turning point is the decision to try out for test pilot, followed by another decision to try out for astronaut. Collins was in the fourth selection group of astronauts, the men who helped carry out the Gemini and Apollo programs. Collins himself flew the Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 missions. He very effectively captures a sense of space flight as a still new and dangerous endeavor, using what now seems like incredibly primitive equipment. Collins has plenty of anecdotes about himself and his fellow astronauts, while offering some worthwhile perspective about the value of space flight.
   
   "Carrying the Fire" is very highly recommended as one of the very best of the many accounts of manned space flight.

5 comments about Deke!: An Autobiography.

1. "Deke" US Manned Space is one of the best books written about Donald Slayton and the entire space program from Mercury all the way through the Shuttle.
   
   We see his military and test pilot carrier and astronaut head of astronaut selection and staffing for the flights. Later after retirement we see Deke racing Formula 1 airplanes, and becoming president of a small company trying to start commercial space launches.
   
   Deke LOVED flying. He flew bombers in WW2 and fighters and had a lot of combat experience. Later he was a jet test pilot and was accepted into the start of the Astronaut program as one of the original Mercury 7. He gets detailed to NASA and achieves the rank of major in the air force. However he has a heart fibrillation and is grounded. With almost 19 total years of various military time he calls the big General Curtis Lemay. He says " General you leave me no choice...I must resign because you are grounding me". The general thinks Deke is crazy throwing away an Air Force retirement with only 1 year to go. That takes balls.
   
   Deke stays in NASA as head of hiring astronauts and assigning them to various training and space flights. He misses his best friend Gus Grissom who he assigned with astronauts White and Chaffee to go on Apollo 1. They die in a horrible fire inside the spacecraft on the ground. Later he is the one to assign Neil Armstrong to be the first man on the moon. He assigns all the astronauts for various flights and is in charge of the selection process for the astronauts/astronaut scientists/ mission specialists and payload specialists. We see the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the moon landings, Apollo/Soyuz, Space Lab and the Shuttle programs. He is involved with all these programs. He stays grounded for years and years until he gets his heart fibrillation stabilized and then is cleared to fly. Finally he gets his big ride on an Apollo spacecraft for an Apollo /Soyuz combined American/Russian mission.
   
   Deke is a workaholic .Deke marries twice but is a loving husband and father
   that because of his job had to spend a lot of time from his family and that put a strain on things.
   
   Deke did it all. A true hero. So much accomplished in a short period of time. He did so much for the entire world in the military and with the space program. This is one of the BEST astronaut books. Buy the book, learn and enjoy. Highest rating 5 stars... wish I could give 10 stars.



2. My whole family has recently gotten interested in the early space program, adults right down to our 13 yr old son. Of all the astronaut biographies and auto-biographies out there, only Michael Collins' Carrying the Fire is any better. This one gives real insight into both the very admirable Deke Slayton himself, and the role he played in NASA in the 1960s through his retirement. It is clear that the man was human, and had his prejudices and opinions -- he didn't, for instance, think that anyone but test pilots had any business in space at least through the Apollo program. He was, as other astronauts have said, "a stand-up guy" who took responsibility for all his decisions, good and bad. He never gave up his dream of flying in space, and I am so glad he got to fly that Apollo-Soyuz joint mission. He was an admirable man, one that I am glad I got to know about and introduce to my children. The book is well-written, with a no-nonsense style and has flashes of humor. Slayton is not maudlin at all, but his account of the day the Apollo 1 astronauts died had me in tears. I could not read it aloud.



3. I would have to say that this book, more than any other, is one I have read and referred to many times over. Covering the most astonishing era of science and exploration in our history, this is the story of the man who was not only a superb pilot and astronaut, but as their influential superior forged the careers of others, by determining who would crew crucial missions. It might have been a difficult thing to have said to Deke's face, but if he hadn't been grounded with a minor heart aliment in the early 1960s, he might only be remembered today as a fellow who flew the Delta 7 Mercury mission after John Glenn's unforgettable flight, and perhaps another one or two missions. But he was forced into taking the responsible position of Chief Astronaut, and in doing so became the perfect person for the job, and today we celebrate that accidental irony. Of course he finally got to make a space flight in 1975, so his NASA astronaut career had a happy ending after all.
   
   Deke knew all of the other astronauts well, and understood better than most who would form the most compatible and best-performing crews for a particular flight. Put two guys together in a VW bug-sized spacecraft and whirl them around the world with little to do for two weeks and see them want to kill each other by mission's end. But that didn't happen on Deke's watch - he matched people and personalities perfectly, and the crux of this, his legacy, are the many highly successful space missions that operated under his pragmatic management.
   
   It is a cracking good book as well, and Michael Cassutt managed to get the most he could from a gravely ill Deke Slayton, who sadly passed away before this book could be published. On behalf of all spaceflight enthusiasts and historians, however, thanks heavens for Michael's foresight in conceiving and carrying through with this book; for without it a veritable raft of questions about the space program and the astronauts will forever have remained unanswered. It is certainly a definitive and reliable source of information for me, and I am delighted that the story of a great man has been so eloquently and thoroughly told.



4. If you want to know how the first person to set foot on the moon was chosen, or any of the other why's that were previously unknown and hidden to outside knowledge, then this is the book that you'll want to read.
   
   Deke Slayton was an astronaut himself with one of the most fascinating personal stories (which we learn in this book). But he was also deeply involved, perhaps more than anyone, in choosing who flew and on which flights.
   
   Before Slayton died at a relatively young age, his name was added to a book called "Moon Shot," which was shallow and disappointing. The stories I knew he must have were not in there. With his death, I assumed that we'd lost any opportunity to know how the astronaut selection process had worked, something which had decided which spacefarer would be a name to be remembered for all time in the history books, and who would be obscure, even forgotten.
   
   But then I found that he hadn't written "Moonshot" - he'd actually been working on this second, much better, much deeper book. And here are all the stories. For the first time, we learned how some of the most historic and momentous decisions were made. It makes for fascinating reading, and I am thankful that Slayton took the time to get it all down on paper before he passed away.
   
   Possibly the best recommendation for this book is that many astronauts have commented that they did not know why they had been picked for certain flights (or passed over) until, decades after retirement, they read this book.
   
   An essential read for anyone with the slightest interest in some of the most important historical events of our age.



5. The book arrived within the scheduled delivery time in excellent condition.
   
   Thank you,
   
   Mark & Francine Keehnel

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

1. I just finished this book, and its one of the best books in my collection of hundreds. This is no ordinary account of the extraordinary. The author gets quite personal in his recollections from his career with NASA as a space shuttle astronaut. We get a very colorful, honest and sometimes brutal account of high and low points from a life long quest to be a participant in the awesome adventure of space travel. The author successfully conveys the fear and stress not only that he felt, but of all of the astronauts' families each time they sat on the launch pad to launch or more often to scrub and have to do it all again until God gives them a break. The outrageous politics of the time is laid bare as well as Mullane's severe political correctness deficits and his eventual respect for his female peers - he didn't care much for extreme feminist Sally Ride. In addition to the astronaut stuff, Mullane also puts his own personal life under the microscope. We learn about his relationship with his father and the unusual challenges he faced. The authors wife also must have agreed to let him write about her own personal tragedy and how she stood as a firm foundation for his accomplishments - and his miraculous near miss while thinking with the wrong part of his anatomy and potentially screwing his family all up. This is not dry material. Really, everything is in this book. I have to admit, the author jerked a bit of emotion out of me regarding challenger. His insider viewpoint made me feel very badly for those astronauts that were killed and all that were close to them. I highly recommend this book, it is a very interesting read.



2. He describes the beauty of outer space quite well, and his love of flying was apparent. I was surprised to read that some of the astronauts, like Mullane, routinely behaved like immature frat boys, but appreciated his honesty. His commentary on NASA's management style was absorbing. He echoed some of the findings of Richard Feynmann, the physicist who participated in the Challenger disaster investigation. Both described dysfunctional management styles of NASA.



3. First... somehow over a half dozen AMAZON.com reviews that I have written in the past have somehow been lost in outer space. I can only wish that I could write as good of a review as I did the first time.
   
   Mike Mullane is a soldier. As a soldier he has a warped sense of sarcasm and sardonism shared by millions of Americans who endure life of near endless absurdity interrupted occassionally by harrowing deeds that most cannot comprehend, rendering subjects to develop perspectives of living and life that most consider vulgar, morbid and downright insane. But always honest and always hillarious, even in its darkest moments.
   
   Mike Mullane wrote this book, which I stumbled across by accident, with all of his military perspectives exposed for the world to ridicule, revile and revere. He wrote this book nearly fearless of the repurcussions (yes, even after retirement) of being raw, real and revelatory.
   
   He wrote of his space flights with an innocence and brilliance unlike any astronaut before or since. Only Alan Bean's paintings can compare in the colour and magnificence that Mike Mullane set to words. He wrote of his selection process with the cynical and foolhardy perspective of a nearly maniacal space oddity psychophant who would readily humiliate himself and sacrifice the love of his family in his vain search to fulfill his lifelong dreams. He wrote of his training with the General Issue's irreverence and insolence shared by nearly every true soldier. And he wrote of his social and familial foibles with an brutal honesty that borders on therapeutic.
   
   And through it all he shares insightfulness and sensitivity that would make most human being crumble in consideration. He marvels himself, at how his incredibly understanding and incredibly sacrificial wife stood by him through all of his torturous machinations... being the strongest and bravest part of this American hero.
   
   This book tells about military and astronaut (and even over-achievement) life with a zest and energy that left me feeling as though I am there on the shores of Cocoa Beach and in the beachhouse quivering in my socks awaiting the days before launch. His realism left me feeling the harness that shackles astronauts into their launch positions and almost smelling the emesis that hides within the nooks and crannies of the space shuttle fleet. And worse so, I felt that I was living the agony and contempt that many of the astronauts must have felt when they learned that their friends and loved ones perished aboard SST Challenger (and later SST Columbia.)
   
   Mike Mullane is not a false god. He is not a super hero. He is not a TIME magazine fictionalized poster child for Americana. Mike Mullane is a flawed and sinful human being who just happened to enjoy a career doing something that he (and millions of others) dreamed of as a child... and lived and loved to tell about it.
   
   With a natural literary fluency and an unbridled honesty he takes his readers down a journey that National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) would prefer never be revealed... but it was the reality of the era of the RIGHT STUFF, of the vaunted Apollo operations and through the earlier years of the Space Shuttle program. Before the political correctness movement (rightfully) took over our government after the TAILHOOK scandal, Mike Mullane became an astronaut. After which he wrote about his trials, travails and triumphs... and anyone interested in the space program or just wishing for a great book to read, would be well served to buy a copy.
   
   10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... blast off with RIDING ROCKETS for one of the best rides of your literary life.



4. What a great book! I never laughed so hard in my life, especially about "Planet AD"! Being prior service that hit way too close to home!! The true stories of life as an astronaut finally revealed and to discover that they're real people too. A highly enlightening book and one I'd recommend to anyone even thinking about becoming an astronaut.



5. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be an astronaut or what goes on behind the scenes, then this book is for you. It is a very easy & compelling read. I had such fun following the career of Mike Mullane. Highly recommended for everyone - not just space buffs!

5 comments about The Way of the Explorer, Revised Edition.

1. 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.



2. 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.



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. 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.




5. 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!

5 comments about Flight My Life in Mission Control.

1. This book is a surprisingly well-written account of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions as Chris Craft saw them. It is strikingly honest and reflective. It makes no attempt to be an objective history or to take other points of view into account. For instance, Craft is brutal on Scott Carpenter, criticizing his dedication to his job, and even questioning his basic intelligence. Despite his basic respect for, and loyalty to, Deke Slayton, he questions whether it was a good idea for Slayton to be given so much unilateral power over who flew which flight, because he thinks a few good men were knocked out of the rotation because of Slayton's sometimes stubborn loytalty to his test pilot astronauts. He questions, for instance, Slayton's decision to fly Gene Cernan in Apollo 17 (despite, again, a basic respect for Cernan and a tribute to a job well done on that mission). Since it is a well-written, very honest book, it is a joy to read. A very good account of all three of the early programs, but most especially for the Gemini flights, since these tend to be overlooked by all but the most ardent of space historians.



2. [Updated Review]
   
   I'm not sure what to make of this book, certainly I must have a different book from all those who call this 'inspirational'.
   
   It is clear almost from the start that Christoper C Kraft is a man who has to get his way.
   
   I was expecting a book from the flight controllers side, instead it appears to be a middle-managers viewpoint- he's too high in the organization to have an insight into the factory floor yet too low to have made the more important decisions. Don't be fooled by Kraft's engineering background, he did little if any engineering for NASA and his active role as flight controller ended with the Mercury flights (something that becomes obvious as the book progresses, and the detail gets more and more vague).
   
   And it is also clear in the book that for all the historic events in this book, Kraft had a first class seat... in the audience. All the important and interesting work appears to have been done by other people; we are left with petty corporate politics, character assassination and power grabs.
   
   His real accomplishments, and there are many, become hidden in his petty squabbles and insubordination. There are numerous examples that Kraft, in his own words, seems to demonstrate he is not a likable man.
   
   At least we now know the reason for the impression that the managers at the Manned Space Center during the early days of NASA were egotistical and arrogant... because they actually were egotistical and arrogant.
   
   Kraft has done a pretty good job of character assassination on himself, even worse than what he did to Scott Carpenter. Maybe Kraft should have let someone else write his story, or better still penned a biography of his mentor Bob Gilruth.



3. In my humble opinion this book has some very interesting information about the childhood of NASA, and this book and the book of Gene Krantz "Failure is not an option" gives a nice look into the life in the MOCR both at Cape Canaveral/Kennedy and in Houston. Mr. Kraft seems a very humble man and as I see it does not try to play up his own role in the complexity of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo space adventure



4. At last I found the ideal person to explain the overall trials and successes of the USA space program: Christopher Columbus Kraft, Jr. A bonus was the success story of a small-town boy with no connections to become the most televised flight director in mission control of NASA, then he moved higher in the ranks of NASA.
   Here the politics of our space program, budget cutting as soon as the first moon landing succeeded (if not sooner), according also to the lack of success of the USSR, are all in here. The selection of astronauts, and the surprising problems with a couple of them, and the fights with panicky flight surgeons in approving any spaceflights at all are all in here. The lack of courage of some NASA officials who were so afraid of blame should there be an accident that they almost killed the program is all in here. As it turned out, the Apollo fire did not kill the program, and pols and press were reasonable about it. Bureaucratic overkill got its just desserts.
   The willingness of so many contractors to bid on limited-term projects was an inspiration, as was their desire to innovate and make the space program go ahead was an inspiration, but the tales of shoddy workmanship and design flaws even late in the program was not.
   The antipathy of some old NASA personnel, Kraft included, toward the Germans under Wernher von Braun was revealed, which slowly diminished. Kraft seemed to acknowledge that without the German effort in the USA to produce the big Saturn V and other boosters, the Apollo program could not have been accomplished in any reasonable period. And to this day, nobody has made such powerful boosters.
   This book was the most inspiring I have ever read on the moon landing program, with all its interim steps, and the reason for each flight. Very well written, fast reading, much thanks to James Schefter. Thankfully, much less sanitized than the early astronauts' efforts. Has index. I could not recommend it more.



5. Very few books on this period, biographical or not, are quite like this one. The information and personal details give a very complete view of NASA from the very beginning, and give some detail to the management evolution of the organization. It also gives some interesting insights into how development of mission-critical / real-time organizations and management should function.