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jdeveret's review against another edition
3.0
I echo a number of other reviews - the content was outstanding, and there were stories and perspectives of the various stages of the early space accomplishments that I had not heard before. I especially enjoyed the way the NASA progress was paralleled with the Soviets; I hadn't read an account that presented it quite that way. All that said, the writing was indeed rather poor, and it was hard to read some sections because of it. I found that generally whenever the book focused on the details of the space race separate from Shepard or Slayton, it read pretty smoothly and was of high quality. When instead it talked about Shepard's or Slayton's inner thoughts, or their relationship, it became stilted and awkward. Considering Shepard ostensibly
contributed a fair amount of the content, I was surprised at how unflatteringly he was portrayed at times, particularly how his return to flight status and shoehorning into the moon landing hierarchy was described. It made me almost wish he ended up getting on 13 as he wanted so that the far more deserving Jim Lovell wouldn't have lost his chance at landing on the moon. In summary, a great book for the content, but Flight by Chris Kraft or Lost Moon by Lovell are better-written accounts of the space race.
contributed a fair amount of the content, I was surprised at how unflatteringly he was portrayed at times, particularly how his return to flight status and shoehorning into the moon landing hierarchy was described. It made me almost wish he ended up getting on 13 as he wanted so that the far more deserving Jim Lovell wouldn't have lost his chance at landing on the moon. In summary, a great book for the content, but Flight by Chris Kraft or Lost Moon by Lovell are better-written accounts of the space race.
megbarnt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
rexsavior's review against another edition
3.0
The exuberant prose style can be a bit hard to take after a while, but it does have an inimitable 'I was there' feel (b/c at least two of the author were in fact 'there') which might be lacking in other books on the same topic.
duparker's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 Stars. I expect ego when I read a book about astronauts, more so when the book is written by astronauts. In general this is an egofest. A bit too much in fact was present. Nothing new is learned from this book. There are much other, more nuanced and clear books on similar topics/eras.
musicdeepdive's review against another edition
3.0
Fantastic story, really confusing and poor writing. Is this a dramatization or a straight re-telling? Make up your minds.
bookworm_anna's review against another edition
3.0
Althought I enjoyed reading this book, I cannot say it was well written. The writing seemed contrived and forced. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot! But I found that I couldn't put it down because it gave so much interesting insight into the Mercury and Apollo program. There was so much interesting information given about all of the different attempts and landings, not just the usual suspects- i.e. Mercury 3,4,6; Apollo 1, 11, 13. Each mission was given special attention and that was fascinating. Although I would recommend this book for good inside information, I would not necessarily recommend it as a good read.
greghxc's review against another edition
4.0
Totally nerdy, but come on. Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton writing about the Apollo missions!
withanf's review against another edition
5.0
Very readable, although coda on Obama space policy is heavy handed.
miocyon's review against another edition
3.0
I read this because it was assigned by a colleague of mine for a seminar he is teaching about the moon which I sat in on. I've never read "The Right Stuff" although the movie was a part of my childhood, and the Space Shuttle program always held a fascination for me. As such, I was hoping to enjoy this book more than I did. The writing feels very superficial, and felt like something I would have read in grade school. It was a little too glowing and rah-rah about the space program and the astronauts. It felt like a very 'male' book, probably mostly because the only women in it, albeit briefly, are some of the astronauts wives. If you want to get an idea about what the space program was like from men in it, then this is an OK introduction, although I wanted more depth and technical information.