John Glenn: A Memoir

If you were a fan of the space program you’ll remember when Glenn orbited the earth. I was a kid but my family and I were glued to the television and watched the story unfold. What I didn’t know until I read this book was how long it took for Glenn to go up in Friendship 7. There were many delays, incredibly invasive testing and, didn’t know this either, several attempts were first made with monkeys.

He went into space again when he was 77. In talking about the crew on Discovery he describes himself as “Another subject was a 77 year old 190 lb specimen known as a payload specialist.” He Said he was as much a guinea pig as he had been in in 1962

Muscle loss in elderly is thought to be primary from lack of exercise, but in space show more astronauts lose muscle from decreased protein production. NASA wanted to monitor and gauge this with a former older astronaut.

While it was the flying and astronaut stories that initially interested me in this book I have to say I enjoyed hearing about his early life.

He met his wife when they were plopped into the same playpen as infants. Their parents were good friends and the friendship, eventually love, blossomed for John and Annie.

Every time he would go away for a long period of time, especially on dangerous missions, they would part with these words.

“I’m just going to the corner store to get a pack of gum” and her response was always “Don’t be long.” The same corny line from that kept the tears in check when left for war, the Korean conflict and being launched into space.

The New York Times stated “At age 36, Major Glenn is reaching the practical age limit for piloting complicated pieces of machinery through the air.” This was after his supersonic flight across the U.S. which took 3 hours and 23 minutes at an average speed of 723 mph.
They’d certainly had no idea what was in store for John Glenn!

I learned quite a bit about John Glenn, his war experiences, his love of flying, the space program and what a patriotic and ethic man he was. There were things I’d forgotten about Glenn such as his bid for the presidency and some of the details of how he ended up in politics.

John Glenn is my third book for the nonfiction challenge hosted by ShelleyRae at Book'd Out
Category is Memoir. show less

4808. John Glenn A Memoir, by John Glenn with Nick Taylor (read 24 Mar 2011) I have never paid overly much attention to space but I found this book of great interest. I undertook to read it because Glenn was a Senator from 1974 to 1999 and I nearly always read Senator biographies when I get a chance, but his account of his first space trip on Feb 20, 1962 (when he orbited the earth three timse--the first person to ever orbit the earth three times-- I found of highest excitement. I also liked his account of growing up in Ohio and found his account of his war experience in World War Two and In the Korean War of high interest. His account of his 1998 space trip, when he orbited the earth 134 times was also amazing reading. This book proved show more to be much better than I expected, and I have decided I will have to read The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe--a book I have often thought about reading. I also highly approved of Glenn's attitude to his family life and to his disapproval of men who can't keep their zipper zipped up when they should. show less

A fascinating look into the life of the first astronaut to orbit the earth, his involvement with Project Mercury, and as a public servant as a senator from Ohio. Plus, we get an update of the world oldest astronaut going back into space: at the age of 77.

Excellent biography about a national hero who presents himself as just an ordinary man. Very motivating.

What ages would I recommend it too? – Twelve and up.

Length? – Three day’s read.

Characters? – Memorable, several characters.

Setting? – Real World, and space, 1930's to 1990's.

Written approximately? – 1999.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Ready to read more.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? No.

Short storyline: The life of John Glenn, the astronaut from childhood through the military and on into space. A circuitous route back to family, home, and friends.

Notes for the reader: You will laugh, cry, and enjoy this book. Reading it is like sitting by the fireside, listening to stories of times long ago, and not so long ago. Every story resonates today, even more so, with the show more lack of jobs and job security these days. show less

must have been tiresome to be around!