book review
Written: Jan 01 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well written.
Cons: A little long.
The Bottom Line: .
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| bobdylan61's Full Review: Right Stuff Books |
Before I read The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe I didn’t know anything about NASA, astronauts, Mercury Seven, test pilots, the heroic Chuck Yeager, or the concept of “the right stuff. I learned how NASA was started, how the first astronauts were selected, who the original seven astronauts were, the dangers of being a test pilot, the tragic story of Chuck Yeager who wasn’t recruited by NASA because he lacked a college degree, and that certain balance between guts and smarts that is “the right stuff”.
I was a little upset that Wolfe chose to concentrate on the personal stories of the men who participated in the programs and their families. I would have liked to have read more about the technical aspects of space travel and the flights. Although, I would have liked to have seen more about the technical aspects of the flights, hearing about the heroic lives of John Glenn, Shepard, and especially Chuck Yeager, was very entertaining. The characters are heroic and patriotic symbols of America and Wolfe does an excellent job to remind the reader that we’re all human.
In addition to his tremendous development of the story’s characters, Wolfe gives great insight into a lot of different political aspects that were shaping our country during the Space Race and the effect that these politics had on the first operational manned space-flight program. If you have any interest in American history or aviation or just good old fashioned heroics and you’re looking to read an entertaining and VERY well written book then I suggest you check out The Right Stuff.
I’d like to note that the book was also turned into a movie in the 1980s. I haven’t seen it, but if it’s anything like the book I’d watch and enjoy it.
I hope this helped.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bobdylan61
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