**CHAPTER 8ASTRONAUTS**

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Aldrin, Edwin E. "Buzz," and McConnell, Malcolm. *Menfrom Earth*. New York: Bantam Books, 1989. This useful recentmemoir and history by one of the first two humans on the Moonand his co-author, who himself wrote a book on the Challengerdisaster, discusses the Moon race, Aldrin's flight during Geminias well as the one to the Moon, and subsequent space efforts byNASA and the Soviets.

Aldrin, Edwin E. "Buzz" with Wayne Warga. *Returnto Earth*. New York: Random House, 1973. As the title wouldsuggest, this book is more autobiography than account of the tripto the Moon on Apollo 11. It discusses Aldrin's bouts with alcoholismand depression following his famous voyage to a greater extentthan it covers the Moon landing and his experiences in NASA. Notas well written as his later book, this one nevertheless revealsa good bit about the character of one astronaut and the perplexitiesthat he and others faced as they became famous public figures.

*"All we did was Fly to the Moon"*. By the Astronautsas told to Dick Lattimer. Foreword by James A. Michener. Alachua,FL: Whispering Eagle Press, 1983. This little picture book containsphotos of astronauts, insignia, and the like plus comments byastronauts. Covers Mercury through Apollo-Soyuz.

"Apollo 8, Astronauts Report on Their Flight Around the Moon."*Interavia*. 24 (February 1969): 186-90. An abridged versionof a press conference the Apollo 8 astronauts held on 9 January1969. Includes photos and diagrams to illustrate the mission.

Armstrong, Neil; Collins, Michael; and Aldrin, Edwin E. Jr. *Firston the Moon: A Voyage with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins andEdwin E. Aldrin, Jr.* Written with Gene Farmer and Dora JaneHamblin. Epilogue by Arthur C. Clarke. Boston: Little, Brown,1970. This is the "official" memoir of the Apollo 11landing mission to the Moon in 1969. It was prepared by the ghostwriters Farmer and Hamblin from information made available exclusivelyto them through a somewhat infamous Time-Life/Field Enterprisescontract that excluded the rest of the media from contact withthe astronauts' families. Contains much personal information aboutthe astronauts that is not available elsewhere.

"The Astronauts--Their Own Great Stories." *Life*.22 August 1969, pp. 22-29. 6 color, 3 B&W photos. The firstpersonal accounts of the Apollo 11 lunar landing as told by theastronauts. Also, "The New Priorities in Exploring Space,"p. 30, cartoon. An editorial about what the next steps in spaceshould be. Also, "Were You an Eyewitness?" p. 49.

Atkinson, Joseph D., Jr., and Shafritz, Jay M. *The Real Stuff:A History of the NASA Astronaut Requirement Program*. New York:Praeger Pubs., 1985. The authors present a solid overview of theselection of the NASA astronauts and their development. It presentsan overview of the selection of the first ten groups of NASA astronautsthrough 1984, then concentrates on covering the watershed selectionsof 1959, the first group; 1965, the first scientists that flewon Apollo spacecraft; and 1978, the first Shuttle selection includingwomen and minorities. Places heavy emphasis on the criteria forselection and the procedures used in selected astronauts.

Borman, Frank. *Countdown: An Autobiography*. New York: WilliamMorrow, Silver Arrow Books, 1988. With Robert J. Serling. Writtento appear on the twentieth anniversary of the first lunar landing,this autobiography spans much more than the Apollo program. Itrecounts Borman's life in aeronautics, first as a military flier,then as a test pilot, and finally as president of Eastern Airlines.

Collins, Michael. *Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys*.New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1974. This is the first candidbook about life as an astronaut, written by the member of theApollo 11 crew that remained in orbit around the Moon. The authorcomments on other astronauts, describes the seemingly endlesspreparations for flights to the Moon, and assesses the results.He also describes what he thinks of as the most important perspectivethat emerged from his flight, a realization of the fragility ofthe Earth. He wrote that "from space there is no hint ofruggedness to it; smooth as a billiard ball, it seems delicatelypoised on its circular journey around the Sun, and above all itseems fragile.... Is the sea water clean enough to pour over yourhead, or is there a glaze of oil on its surface?... Is the riverbanka delight or an obscenity? The difference between a blue-and-whiteplanet and a black-and-brown one is delicate indeed."

Cooper, Henry S.F. *Apollo on the Moon*. New York: Dial Press,1969. In this book Cooper predicts, before the landing of Apollo11 astronauts on the Moon in July 1969, what they would encounter.More important, he follows the preparations for the mission withgreat skill and recounts them in his personal and scintillatingstyle. A small work, this book is barely 140 pages and is takenalmost verbatim from two of Cooper's *New Yorker* articles.

Cox, Donald W. *America's Explorers of Space: Including a SpecialReport on Project Apollo*. Maplewood, NJ: Hammond, 1969. Thiscollection of popular biographical sketches of astronauts andsuch other "explorers of space" as Wernher von Braunand William H. Pickering also contains an overview of ProjectApollo.

Cunningham, Walter, with Herskowitz, Mickey. *The All-AmericanBoys*. New York: Macmillan Co., 1977. This candid memoir bya former Marine jet jockey with a Ph.D. in physics who becamea civilian astronaut is critical of "the myth of the super-hero astronaut." Aided by Texas newsman Herskowitz, Cunninghamsays the astronauts were "all too human" in both theirstrengths and their weaknesses. Cunningham relates his flighton Apollo 7, which followed the Apollo 204 fire and became thefirst successful Earth-orbiting mission. He also provides valuableinsights into "astropolitics," the way the astronautcorps functioned.

El-Baz, Farouk. *Astronaut Observations from the Apollo-SoyuzMission*. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1977.This volume consists partly of text, partly of extensive photographsand maps of the Earth taken by astronauts on their training flightsfor the mission or taken on board the spacecraft to support theEarth Observations and Photography Experiment conducted duringthe mission. Another portion of the text consists of verbal commentsmade by American astronauts regarding that experiment. The remaining122 pages of text consists of discussions of the scientific objectivesof the mission, astronaut training, flight planning, mission operations,and a summary of the scientific findings of the mission in theareas of geology, oceanography, hydrology, meteorology, and environmentalscience.

Farmer, G., and Hamblin, D. *First on the Moon*. Boston:Little, Brown, 1970. See under Armstrong, Neil.

"For the Heroes, Salute and Farewell." *Life*.10 February 1967, pp. cover, 20- 31. 20 color photos depict thefunerals of the Apollo 204 astronauts; also, 3 B&W photosof the burned capsule and interior.

Frank, Joseph. *The Doomed Astronaut*. New York: WinthropPublishers, 1972. This book documents that flying has been a humanobsession since antiquity, and that commentary on it has beennotoriously pessimistic. Then the author argues that continuedflights in space by astronauts are doomed to failure. He usesmythological figures, especially Icarus, to make this case repeatedlyin the book, and uses transcripts from Walter Cronkite's broadcastsof the Apollo 13 near-disaster as modern evidence of his position.

Goldstein, Stanley H. *Reaching for the Stars: The Story ofAstronaut Training and the Lunar Landing*. New York: Praeger,1987. This is a detailed account of the development and managementof the astronaut training program for Project Apollo.

Grissom, Betty, and Still, Henry. *Starfall*. New York: ThomasY. Crowell, 1974. This account co-authored by the wife of AstronautVergil I. "Gus" Grissom with a veteran journalist andaerospace executive recounts the astronaut's career and tragicdeath in the Apollo 204 fire. The book naturally devotes a gooddeal of attention to the fire. Betty's lawsuit against North AmericanAviation, builder of the command and service module in which thefire occurred, for the damage to her and her children also formspart of the story, resulting in her out-of-court settlement for$350,000.

Irwin, James B[enson], with Emerson, William A., Jr. *To Rulethe Night: The Discovery Voyage of Astronaut Jim Irwin*. Boston:G.K. Hall, 1974. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1973. Thisreadable autobiography of an Air Force pilot turned astronautrecounts his astronaut training and trip to the Moon on Apollo15 together with his other experiences in life to that point.Stronger on impressions than details, this book nevertheless provideshis personal perspective on flying in space.

Kozloski, Lillian D. *U.S. Space Gear: Outfitting the Astronaut*.Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994. This extensivelyillustrated, large-format book follows the history of space suitsfrom flying suits and the development of the pressure suit throughMercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz, through theshuttle era, concluding with a chapter entitled "Space Suitsin the National Collection." There are 11 appendices, a glossary,reference notes, a select bibliography, and an index. Much morethan a coffee-table decoration, this is a valuable reference source.

Lovell, James A., et al. "The Three Astronauts Tell WhatHappened Aboard the Crippled Apollo 13." *Life*, 68(1 May 1970): 24-33. An account in the astronauts' own words ofwhat happened on Apollo 13, accompanied by the usual number ofphotos.

MacKinnon, Douglas, and Baldanza, Joseph. *Footprints: The 12Men Who Walked on the Moon Reflect on their Flights, their Livesand the Future*. Washington, DC: Acropolis Books, 1989. Anillustrated history, this book tells in narrative and photographsthe story of Project Apollo. It emphasizes the stories of theastronauts, printing twelve interviews with those who walked onthe Moon. Unfortunately, the book fails on several levels. Theauthors make no attempt to tie the interviews together, and theastronauts provide no revealing insights. The lode of astronautimpressions was exhausted long before this book was compiled.

Mailer, Norman. "The Psychology of Astronauts." *Life*.14 November 1969, pp. 50-60, 62-63. 1 color, 1 B&W photo.Part II of Norman Mailer's "A Fire on the Moon" examinespre-flight training and astronaut philosophies. Also, "Saturn5," p. 9. Color ad by Monogram models showing a Saturn 5and U.S. Space Missile models.

"The Moon Men Now." *Life*. July 1979, pp. 76-84.15 color and B&W photos. A good article on what many of theApollo astronauts were doing ten years after the first Moon landing.

"The Old Pro Gets His Shot at the Moon." *Life*.31 July 1970, pp. 48-56. 2 color, 5 B&W photos. A biographyor Alan B. Shepard who was to be commander of the Apollo 14 mission--hislife since his first flight in 1961.

"The Old Pro Goes All the Way." *Life*. 19 February1971, pp. 32-35. 2 color, 4 B&W photos on the flight of Apollo14. Highlights Alan Shepard.

O'Leary, Brian. *The Making of an Ex-Astronaut*. Boston:Hougton Mifflin Company, 1970. This is an acidic look at the astronautselection process inside NASA, as well as a bitter memoir of thepolitics of flight assignments.

*. . . On Course to the Stars: The Roger B. Chaffee Story*.Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1968. As told to C. DonaldChrysler by Don L. Chaffee and Family. A very moving personalaccount of the life of Astronaut Roger Chaffee and his death inthe Apollo 204 fire.

"Our Journey to the Moon." *Life*. 17 January 1969,pp. 26-31. 4 photos, 3 in color. Personal accounts by the threeApollo 8 astronauts.

"Put Them High on the List of Men Who Count." *Life*.3 February 1967, pp. cover, 18-27. 15 B&W photo essay on astronautsGrissom, White, and Chaffee killed in the Apollo 204 fire.

Schirra, Walter M., Jr. *Schirra's Space*. Boston: QuinlanPress, 1988. With Richard N. Billings. Another astronaut memoir,this one is filled with practical jokes and anecdotes about mundanetraining. It also offers some revealing new details of the spaceflights,particularly the shakedown flight of Apollo 7 in Earth orbit inOctober 1968.

"Schirra's Team Carries on for Apollo." *Life*.19 May 1967, pp. cover, 32-39. 21 color photos mainly of astronautsSchirra, Eisele, and Cunningham relaxing with their families.

Wilson, Andrew, and Shayler, David J. "Return to Apollo."*Spaceflight*. 22 (January 1980): 7-21. This article providesa retrospective look at the astronauts who flew on the Apollolunar missions.

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