Product Description
Near the end of the Apollo 15 mission, David Scott and fellow moonwalker James Irwin conducted a secret ceremony unsanctioned by NASA: they placed on the lunar soil a small tin figurine called “The Fallen Astronaut,” along with a plaque bearing a list of names. This book enriches the saga of mankind’s greatest scientific undertaking, Project Apollo, and conveys the human cost of the space race – by telling the stories of those sixteen astronauts and cosmonauts who died reaching for the moon.
Many people are aware of the Apollo launch pad disaster in which three men lost their lives, but few know of the other five fallen astronauts whose stories this book tells as well: among them, Ted Freeman and C.C. Williams, who died in the crashes of their -38 jets; the “Gemini Twins,” Charlie Bassett and Elliot See, killed when their jet slammed into the building where their Gemini capsule was undergoing final construction; and Ed Givens, whose fatal car crash has until now been obscured by rumors. The extraordinary lives and accomplishments of these and other fallen astronauts – including eight Russian cosmonauts who lost their lives during training – unfold here in intimate and compelling detail, supported by extensive interviews and archival material. Their stories return us to a stirring time in the history of our nation and remind us of the cost of fulfilling our dreams.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2335591 in Books
- Published on: 2003-10-01
- Original language:
English
- Binding: Hardcover
- 272 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Eight of America's early astronauts, selected to participate in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, died while employed by NASA. Three of the eight-Roger Chaffee, Gus Grissom and Ed White-are fairly well known, having died in a gruesome fire during a training exercise in the Apollo 1 command module on January 27, 1967. The other five are far less familiar. Four perished in jet crashes (Ted Freeman, Elliot See, Charlie Bassett and C.C. Williams) while one (Ed Givens) died in a car crash. Unfortunately, Burgess (Teacher in Space) and Doolan (coauthor, Mission to Planet Earth) tell their stories in turgid and repetitive prose, failing to dig beneath the surface and thus providing remarkably little insight into the men, their time or the agency for which they worked. Unlike virtually every other book dealing with the personalities of the astronauts, this one leads us to believe that all were single-minded saints, with no human foibles. Rounding out the book is a chapter written by Vis, a Dutch space analyst, detailing the lives and deaths of the eight Soviet cosmonauts who died between 1961 and 1971. This chapter is even weaker than the rest; little meaningful information is presented and there are factual conflicts with the American chapters. While the untimely deaths of good, talented men evoke pathos, these abbreviated biographies do not deepen understanding of them. 37 b&w photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Emotionally moving, factually detailed portraits. . . . Fallen Astronauts should be on every space enthusiast''s reading list."—Dr. Rick W. Sturdevant, Air Power History
(Dr. Rick W. Sturdevant
Air Power History )
"This book considers both American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts who died in the line of duty prior to 1972. Burgess and Doolan offer a brief biography and personal stories with a focus on the astronauts'' passion for their profession. . . . It is well written and will be enjoyed by enthusiasts of the history of spaceflight."—Choice
(
CHOICE )
"A fascinating, often sad, but uplifting account. . . . Though there are many space explorers no longer with us their achievements should not be forgotten. This book goes a long way to preserve the memory of 16 of them."—Dave Shayler, Spaceflight
(Dave Shayler
Spaceflight )
"A compendium of research into the lives, including their tragic deaths, of astronauts who gave their all in pursuit of their personal goal, and that of their country, of reaching the moon."—Hazel Brittingham, Cape Gazette
(Hazel Brittingham
Cape Gazette )
“This wonderful book, which brought back many fond and sometimes painful memories of a few who sadly never realized their dreams, is a long overdue tribute to fallen comrades from a truly amazing era in American history.”—Walter M. Schirra Jr., Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronaut
(Walter M. Schirra Jr. )
