First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

948 Pages·2005·8.67 MB·English

by  James R. Hansen

SIMON & SCHUSTER
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Copyright © 2005 by James R. Hansen
All rights reserved,
including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON & SCHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hansen, James R.
First man : the life of Neil A. Armstrong / James R. Hansen.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Armstrong, Neil, 1930– 2. Astronauts—United States—Biography. 3. Project Apollo (U.S.) 4. Space flight to the moon. I. Title.
TL789.85.A75H36 2005
629.45'0092—dc22
[B] 2005049992
ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-8171-3
ISBN-10: 0-7432-8171-3
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
For Jennifer and Nathan
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.
—JOSEPH CAMPBELL, REFLECTIONS
ON THE ART OF LIVING
Contents
Prologue: The Launch
PART ONE: AN AMERICAN GENESIS
CHAPTER 1 The Strong of Arm
CHAPTER 2 The Strong of Spirit
PART TWO: TRANQUILITY BASE
CHAPTER 3 First Child
CHAPTER 4 The Virtues of Small
ville
CHAPTER 5 Truth in the Air
CHAPTER 6 Aeronautical Engi
neering 101
PART THREE: WINGS OF GOLD
CHAPTER 7 Class 5-49
CHAPTER 8 Fighter Squadron 51
CHAPTER 9 Fate Is the Hunter
CHAPTER 10 The Ordeal of Eagles
PART FOUR: THE REAL RIGHT
STUFF
CHAPTER 11 The Research Pilot
CHAPTER 12 Above the High Desert
CHAPTER 13 At the Edge of Space
CHAPTER 14 The Worst Loss
CHAPTER 15 Higher Resolve
CHAPTER 16 I’ve Got a Secret
PART FIVE: NO MAN IS AN
ISLAND
CHAPTER 17 Training Days
CHAPTER 18 In Line for Command
CHAPTER 19 Gemini VIII
CHAPTER 20 The Astronaut’s Wife
CHAPTER 21 For All America
PART SIX: APOLLO
CHAPTER 22 Out of the Ashes
CHAPTER 23 Wingless on Luna
CHAPTER 24 Amiable Strangers
CHAPTER 25 First Out
CHAPTER 26 Dialectics of a Moon
Mission
PART SEVEN: ONE GIANT LEAP
CHAPTER 27 Outward Bound
CHAPTER 28 The Landing
CHAPTER 29 One Small Step
CHAPTER 30 Return to Earth
CHAPTER 31 For All Mankind
PART EIGHT: DARK SIDE OF THE
MOON
CHAPTER 32 Standing Ground
CHAPTER 33 To Engineer Is Human
CHAPTER 34 The Astronaut as Icon
CHAPTER 35 Into the Heartland
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Photographic Inserts
Index