Now a major motion picture, this is the first--and only--definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose "one small step" changed history. When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon's surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. In First Man , author James R. Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over fifty hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this "magnificent panorama of the ...
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Now a major motion picture, this is the first--and only--definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose "one small step" changed history. When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon's surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. In First Man , author James R. Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over fifty hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this "magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century" ( Publishers Weekly , starred review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon. In this "compelling and nuanced portrait" ( Chicago Tribune ) filled with revelations, Hansen vividly recreates Armstrong's career in flying, from his seventy-eight combat missions as a naval aviator flying over North Korea to his formative trans-atmospheric flights in the rocket-powered X-15 to his piloting Gemini VIII to the first-ever docking in space. For a pilot who cared more about flying to the Moon than he did about walking on it, Hansen asserts, Armstrong's storied vocation exacted a dear personal toll, paid in kind by his wife and children. For the near-fifty years since the Moon landing, rumors have swirled around Armstrong concerning his dreams of space travel, his religious beliefs, and his private life. A penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and as an individual. " First Man burrows deep into Armstrong's past and present...What emerges is an earnest and brave man" ( Houston Chronicle ) who will forever be known as history's most famous space traveler.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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This book can almost be considered a technical manual with an occasional sentence thrown in to give it some story value. It really came through for me because I'm pretty much interested in ONLY the technical aspects. Neil was a man of very few words, whose sole interest was in performing his duty with ZERO interest in being famous - and thus, a story from his mouth can't be expected to be colorful - but in a masterpiece of understatement, his simple and direct explanations put you right in the pilot's seat during the second-by-second coverage of the final approach.
Some interesting facts come out; for instance they didn't even have time to look out at the new world until they went through a complete rehearsal of the takeoff procedure, etc. Nice book.
Moonduster
Jan 6, 2011
Good book, but nothing new
First Man is a typical book on the subject of the Apollo moon landings. It's especially good at presenting the unique challenges of the first moon landing.
The only reason to read this book is to get a little understanding into the life and mind of the first moonwalker. Unfortunately, Armstrong did not reveal as much as I would have liked. He has always been good at keeping his thoughts to himself and this book seems to leave more questions than it resolves. For instance, Hansen spent an entire chapter on the life of Armstrong's daughter, Karen, who I'd never heard about. Later in the book, he goes on for page after page discussing whether or not Armstrong took a souvenior of hers with him to the moon. That question is not answered in the book, so why even bring it up?
There are a lot of good things in this book, but it feels incomplete to me.
