First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong
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On July 20, 1969, the world stood still to watch thirty-eight-year-old American astronaut Neil A. Armstrong become the first person ever to step on the surface of another heavenly body. Perhaps no words in human history became better known than those few he uttered at that historic moment. Upon his return to Earth, Armstrong was honored and celebrated for his monumental achievement. He was also -- as James R. Hansen reveals in this fascinating and important authorized biography -- misunderstood. Armstrong's accomplishments as an engineer, a test pilot, and an astronaut have long been a matter of record, but Hansen's unprecedented access to private documents and unpublished sources and his interviews with more than 125 subjects (including more than fifty hours with Armstrong himself) yield this first in-depth analysis of an elusive American celebrity still renowned the world over. In a riveting narrative filled with revelations, Hansen vividly re-creates Armstrong's career in flying, from his seventy-eight combat missions as a naval aviator flying over North Korea to his formative transatmospheric flights in the rocket-powered X-15 to his piloting Gemini VIII to the first-ever docking in space. These milestones made it seem, as Armstrong's mother, Viola, memorably put it, "as if from the very moment he was born -- farther back still -- that our son was somehow destined for the Apollo 11 mission." For a pilot who cared more about flying to the Moon than he did about walking on it, Hansen asserts, Armstrong's storied vocation exacted a dear personal toll, paid in kind by his wife and children. For the thirty-six years since the Moon landing, rumors have swirled around Armstrong concerning his dreams of space travel, his religious beliefs, and his private life. In a penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and as an individual. In First Man, the personal, technological, epic, and iconic blend to form the portrait of a great but reluctant hero who will forever be known as history's most famous space traveler. The New York Times - Douglas Brinkley Using NASA records, Hansen superbly reconstructs the Gemini 8 mission (March 16, 1966) when Armstrong performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space. His reputation for sheer technical competence became legendary at Johnson Space Center in Texas. According to Chris Kraft, the chief of flight operations in Houston, Armstrong was tapped "first man" over Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, one of his sidekicks on Apollo 11, because, "Neil was Neil. Calm, quiet and absolute confidence. We all knew that he was the Lindbergh type. He had no ego."
ContentsPrologue: The LaunchPart One: An American GenesisChapter 1 The Strong of ArmChapter 2 The Strong of SpiritPart Two: Tranquility BaseChapter 3 First ChildChapter 4 The Virtues of Smallville6Chapter 5 Truth in the AirChapter 6 Aeronautical Engineering 101Part Three: Wings of GoldChapter 7 Class 5-49Chapter 8 Fighter Squadron 51Chapter 9 Fate Is the HunterChapter 10 The Ordeal of EaglesPart Four: The Real Right StuffChapter 11 The Research PilotChapter 12 Above the High DesertChapter 13 At the Edge of SpaceChapter 14 The Worst LossChapter 15 Higher ResolveChapter 16 I've Got a SecretPart Five: No Man Is an IslandChapter 17 Training DaysChapter 18 In Line for CommandChapter 19 Gemini VIIIChapter 20 The Astronaut's WifeChapter 21 For All AmericaPart Six: ApolloChapter 22 Out of the AshesChapter 23 Wingless on LunaChapter 24 Amiable StrangersChapter 25 First OutChapter 26 Dialectics of a Moon MissionPart Seven: One Giant LeapChapter 27 Outward BoundChapter 28 The LandingChapter 29 One Small StepChapter 30 Return to EarthChapter 31 For All MankindPart Eight: Dark Side of the MoonChapter 32 Standing GroundChapter 33 To Engineer Is HumanChapter 34 The Astronaut as IconChapter 35 Into the HeartlandAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex
