First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

"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pilot, and an astronaut have long been a matter of record, but Hansen's unprecedented access to private documents and unpublished sources and his interviews with more than 125 subjects (including more than fifty hours with Armstrong himself) yield this first in-depth analysis of an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. "

Share your thoughts on the First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong ebook with other internet viewers!

Title of ebook: First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong
ISBN: 9780743281713
parent-ISBN: 9780743256315
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Internet download file size: 2511 kb
Published: 10-2005
Released online for download: 10-13-2005
Author of eBook: Hansen, James , R.

Format

Encrypted

Sku

ISBN

File size

Security

Printing

Copying

Read aloud

Devices

Microsoft

Yes

0743281713

9780743281713

2511 KB

n/a

Not allowed

Sys Requirments

Download reader

First Man

The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

Prologue: The Launch

After the Moon mission was over and the Apollo 11 astronauts were back on Earth, Buzz Aldrin remarked to Neil Armstrong, "Neil, we missed the whole thing."

Somewhere between 750,000 and 1 million people, the largest crowd ever for a space launch, gathered at Florida's Cape Kennedy in the days leading to Wednesday, July 16, 1969. Nearly a thousand policemen, state troopers, and waterborne state conservation patrolmen struggled through the previous night to keep an estimated 350,000 cars and boats flowing on the roads and waterways. One enterprising state auto inspector leased two miles of roadside from orange growers, charging two bucks a head for viewing privileges. For $1.50 apiece, another entrepreneur sold pseudo-parchment attendance certificates with simulated Old English lettering; an additional $2.95 bought a pseudo space pen.

No tailgate party at any Southeastern Conference football game could match the summer festival preceding the first launch for a Moon landing. Sunglassed spectators dressed in Bermuda shorts or undressed in bikinis, even a ... read full excerpt from First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong ebook

Other Hansen, James, R. ebooks:

receive alert on new Hansen, James, R. ebooks

First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

"On July 20, 1969, the world stood still to watch thirty-eight-year-old American astronaut Neil A. Armstrong become th ...

Best price: $17.01

Other Biography eBooks Categories

Biography General (1414)

Regional Subjects (78)

Specific Groups (131)

Adventurers & Explorers (52)

Artists & Architects (243)

Business (75)

Childhood Memoir (28)

Criminals & Outlaws (37)

Editors, Journalists, Publishers (40)

Entertainers (336)

Ethnic Cultures (33)

Heads of State (96)

Literary (161)

Medical (85)

Military (134)

People of Color (96)

Personal Memoirs (916)

Political (178)

Religious (139)

Rich & Famous (33)

Scientists (70)

Sports (175)

Travelers (37)

Women (306)

Top eBooks in Scientists

Copernicus' Secret: How the Scientific Revolution Began
by Repcheck, Jack

Nicolaus Copernicus gave the world perhaps the most important scientific insight of the modern age, the theory that the earth and the other planets revolve ...more

Best price: $15.12

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
by Isaacson, Walter

"Benjamin Franklin is the Founding Father who winks at us. An ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to ...more

Best price: $17.91

Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution
by Keynes, Randal

In a chest of drawers bequeathed by his grandmother, author Randal Keynes discovered the writing case of Charles Darwin's beloved daughter Annie, who died at ...more

Best price: $15.00

Confessions of an Alien Hunter
by Shostak, Seth

Aliens are big in America. Whether they’ve arrived via rocket, flying saucer, or plain old teleportation, they’ve been invading, infiltrating, or ...more

Best price: $18.84

Curious Minds
by BROCKMAN, JOHN

A fascinating collection of essays from twenty-seven of the world's most interesting scientists about the moments and events in their childhoods that ...more

Best price: $13.17

Von Cosel

Customer review:
This is one of the strangest novels you will ever read--that and "undying love" are both about this man who lives with a corpse for years and believes it talks to him etc. This ...more

Best price: $5.84

Microsoft Reader Information :

Microsoft Reader is the first product to include ClearType™ display technology. ClearType greatly improves resolution on LCD screens to deliver a print-like display. Microsoft Reader also pays strict attention to the traditions and benefits of good typography. It offers a clean, uncluttered layout; ample margins; proper spacing, leading and kerning; plus powerful tools for book marking, highlighting and annotation.

What are the requirements for Microsoft Reader?

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98 platforms, Microsoft Windows NT4 SP6, Microsoft Windows 2000 platforms, Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows Me.
Processor: Pentium 75 or higher microprocessor
Memory: 16 MB RAM
Hard Disk: Approximately 19 MB free hard drive space (Microsoft Reader is 3.6 MB, but additional hard disk space is required for installation)
Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 with Service Pack 1 or higher

MS Reader for Pocket PC

Operating System: Pocket PC 2002 / 2003
Memory: 2.236 MB free RAM
Additional Software: Microsoft ActiveSync® 3.5 or later

MS Reader for Tablet PC

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition - Microsoft Reader for Tablet PC will not work on any other operating system or device.

Why must I activate my Microsoft Reader?

Many publishers require powerful copy protection for their eBook titles. In order for you to be able to purchase and download eBook titles that have been secured for distribution, you first need to activate your Microsoft Reader. Just as a credit card typically must be activated by a bank before use, your Microsoft Reader needs to be activated before you can purchase and read eBooks packaged for secure distribution.

Does it matter which internet browser I use with Microsoft Reader?

Microsoft Reader requires Internet Explorer 4.01 or later be installed on the user's PC or laptop, but the user is not required to use Internet Explorer as his or her browser. (Netscape, for example, can be used as the browser and Microsoft Reader will continue to function normally.) Microsoft Reader takes advantage of some of the underlying components within IE during activation and provides the integrated bookstore directory.