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Loading... Neil Armstrong (edition 2015)by Jay Barbree (Author)
Work InformationNeil Armstrong: A Life of Flight by Jay Barbree
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Neil Armstrong - the first man to step on the moon. This is not a story of Armstrong's lifelong flight from the police, as a friend jokingly questioned. Rather, this covers his training, his career as a pilot in the Korean War, his NASA career, and his life after he left the space program. There is excellent background on all the Mercury and Gemini flights, and most of the Apollo flights, as well as some of the Soviet flights. We meet most of the astronauts and some of the cosmonauts. We also get a full five enthralling chapters on Apollo 11's historic flight to, and return from, the moon. There are photos on nearly every page, a good many I hadn't seen before and some are very moving. My only complaint - all the photos are black & white. When tragedy struck again, Armstrong returned to NASA briefly as Vice Chairman of the commission that investigated the Challenger accident. Barbree was best friends with Armstrong, good friends with most of the astronauts and we get some good stories. Definitely a bromance with the fliers and the space program but Barbree doesn't cut NASA any slack for its mistakes and later failures. A must-read for the space fan and I defy you to not tear up throughout the telling. ( ) An authorized biography of the first man to step onto the surface of the moon. Although he shied away from publicity, Neil Armstrong discussed his lifelong love of flying with his friend, NBC New Space Correspondent Jay Barbree. Writing about Neil’s three passions . . . flight, family, friends . . . the author spins a tale of flight from the days of Armstrong’s Korean War battle missions to the daring flights in the experimental X-15 rocket plane to the earth-orbiting Gemini space capsule to the magnificent desolation of the lunar surface. Pictures, many of which may be new to readers, are a perfect accompaniment to the story of the life of a man who, despite his reluctance to step into the spotlight, holds a singular place in the history of mankind. Highly recommended. To be honest, I didn't finish the book. I was so excited to pick up this book and read about Neil Armstrong, a great man and hero to many. Written by a "close friend", I expected to get the know the man. The writing style (language, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure) is not very good. This reads less like a biography and more like a tell all (with the author trying to convince us, or maybe even himself, that Neil was his BFF). To be honest, I didn't finish the book. I was so excited to pick up this book and read about Neil Armstrong, a great man and hero to many. Written by a "close friend", I expected to get the know the man. The writing style (language, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure) is not very good. This reads less like a biography and more like a tell all (with the author trying to convince us, or maybe even himself, that Neil was his BFF). To be honest, I didn't finish the book. I was so excited to pick up this book and read about Neil Armstrong, a great man and hero to many. Written by a "close friend", I expected to get the know the man. The writing style (language, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure) is not very good. This reads less like a biography and more like a tell all (with the author trying to convince us, or maybe even himself, that Neil was his BFF). no reviews | add a review
"To date, everything written about Armstong's life and flights has been written from the outside looking in; Barbree is the only person whom Neil Armstrong trusted to share close personal details about his inspiring life story. Working from his years of notes, and with the full cooperation of the Armstrong family, Barbree has written the definitive biography of America's most famous astronaut and one of our greatest modern heroes. Much has already been written about Armstrong and the major players who helped him fly to the moon, but he wanted this book to emphasize his two passions--family and flight. Barbree and Armstrong discussed everything, from his two marriages and the death of his baby daughter, to his love of flying, the war years and of course, his time in space. The book, timed to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch and full of never-before-seen photos, includes many personal details that have never before been written, such as what Armstrong really felt when he took that first step on the moon, what life in NASA was like, his relationships with the other astronauts, and what he felt the future of space exploration should be"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)629.450092Technology Engineering and allied operations Other Branches Astronauts and Space Travel Manned space flight General & Biography General & Biography Biographies & History BiographyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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