More about Armstrong's career than his personal life
4 stars
This book is a bit too technical for my taste— lots of numbers, names, and dry facts. The pacing drags in some spots, and the story often gets interrupted by engineering lessons or other academic subjects. That being said, Hansen’s thorough and meticulous research is invaluable, and I find the chapters on the moon landing really fascinating.
Whenever I finish a book, I like to think about how it changed my perspective and what I have learned from it. In this case, I did learn a few things, even though it wasn’t as entertaining as I’d expected. It is, after all, an academic biography— exactly what Armstrong wanted it to be.
This outstanding and incredibly detailed book follows the arc of Neil Armstrong’s singular life from his ancestry to his twilight years. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including, of course, NASA materials, newspapers, and magazines, but also interviews with family, friends, and colleagues and Neil himself, Dr Hansen constructs a faithful portrait of the first man to walk on the Moon. As Hansen notes, much of Neil’s life after 1969 was affected by this achievement of “first”, which Neil has always maintained is not something he sought nor placed much importance on. But in one of life’s ironies, he was selected for the honor while his crewmate Buzz Aldrin, who really wanted it, was not. Discussion of the reasoning behind this decision is detailed in this book, along with alternative explanations, painting a fuller picture of what happened behind the scenes than we usually see. Hansen gives similar treatment …
This outstanding and incredibly detailed book follows the arc of Neil Armstrong’s singular life from his ancestry to his twilight years. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including, of course, NASA materials, newspapers, and magazines, but also interviews with family, friends, and colleagues and Neil himself, Dr Hansen constructs a faithful portrait of the first man to walk on the Moon. As Hansen notes, much of Neil’s life after 1969 was affected by this achievement of “first”, which Neil has always maintained is not something he sought nor placed much importance on. But in one of life’s ironies, he was selected for the honor while his crewmate Buzz Aldrin, who really wanted it, was not. Discussion of the reasoning behind this decision is detailed in this book, along with alternative explanations, painting a fuller picture of what happened behind the scenes than we usually see. Hansen gives similar treatment to a number of other apocryphal stories, of which there are many. It seems that by coming in peace for all mankind, man was given license to project his own perspectives onto that of Neil Armstrong. For example, I did not know that many Muslims believed that Neil converted to Islam on the Moon.
Neil’s own reticence to speak out may be partly to blame. But that may be just one of many reasons to admire the man, to hold him up as a role model. After reading this book, I know that I do.
“I am, and ever will be, a white-socks pocket-protector nerdy engineer.”
This book is long and sometimes dense with details, but it is very well written and never dull. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the space program or experimental test flight, or for witnessing how far hard work and focus can take you.
