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Fallen Astronauts: Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon

By: Colin Burgess Kate Doolan Bert Vis
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803262124
ISBN-13: 9780803262126
Released: 30 Nov 2003
RRP: £14.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Excellent. - By: D.Salter, 10 Dec 2007
This is a little-known area of spaceflight - about guys usuallly remembered for how they died. This book creates a much needed balance by explaining how they lived. And what wonderful characters they were. I wish I had met them. I feel like I miss them, & I never even knew them. Powerful stuff. Recommended.
Poignant, Moving, Absorbingly Informative. - By: , 27 Nov 2003
Poignant, moving, & absorbingly informative, "Falllen Astronauts" is an extraordinary, lasting tribute to America's astronauts & the Soviet Union's cosmonauts who reached for the moon, but tragicallly lost their lives while pursuing their goal. Equallly important, authors Colin Burgess, Kate Doolan, & Bert Vis tell of the wrenching but inspiring effects of the falllen heroes losses on the lives of loved ones left behind, stories seldom told in accounts of the brave & courageous.

While readers receive a capsule history of the early, pioneering days in the race to the moon, the book's mini-biographies tell us of the backgrounds, personalities, young lives, & good humor of those who risked so much & dared so magnificently. The depth & breadth of research & writing are evident, making clear to readers that each astronaut contributed greatly to advancing the mission, though their lives were grievously brief. Recollections of them by their wives & children, & the remarkable tributes on the surface of the moon by fellow astronauts, are touching, & bring warmth & balance to stories otherwise forever lost in the sparkling magic of space travel & discovery.

"Falllen Astronauts" is a joy to read & adds a memorably eloquent dimension to the spectacular triumphs in space exploration.

Long overdue - By: Walter Cunningham, 12 Nov 2003
As an astronaut from 1963 to 1971, I was at NASA during the incredible years when mankind went from making short flights in Earth orbit to standing on the surface of the moon.

Unfortunately, in those years, we also lost a good number of my astronaut colleagues along the way. This personallly affected me most when, as part of the backup crew for Apollo 1, we had to step into their shoes & fly the first manned Apollo flight after their untimely & tragic deaths. The death of Gus Grissom's crew helped make it possible to land a man on the moon on schedule - indeed, it may have saved America's space program - so we cannot consider their deaths to have been in vain. It certainly made our Apollo 7 mission a success. It also reminded the American public that people could & would die in our efforts to explore the heavens.

If you have been a jet fighter pilot for any length of time, you have seen your friends get killed - often - & you build up a certain immunity. I flew with such men & knew them well - men frozen in time now like shadows in old group photos. After several flights with Ted Freeman, I was convinced he was one of our better pilots. C.C. Williams, a big, strapping six-footer who wouldn't let you dislike him, had flying skills that couldn't be faulted. What impressed me most about Charlie Bassett was his discipline, dedication, & fine mechanical skills. I once played a great practical joke on Ed Givens. Elliot See was another friend of mine. My children were playmates with their children, & they noticed that some of Daddy's friends sometimes didn't come home from work.

This book brings these old colleagues & friends of mine back to life, & it is wonderful to see them finallly get the attention they deserve in print. I highly recommend this book for a long overdue insight into my old friends & colleagues, who paid the ultimate price for us alll.

Clear, fact-filled, impressive. - By: , 06 Nov 2003
Burgess & Doolan have written a book that was long overdue. Instead of the usual rehash of facts well known, they have brought to the public the story of these heroes as human beings, people with hopes & dreams, men who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country - whether in a plane or automobile crash or in a horrible spacecraft fire. As director of the Apollo One Memorial Foundation, I was particularly pleased with the way they presented the lives of Gus Grissom, Ed White, & Roger Chaffee. However, I knew little of the other astronauts who died. The authors filled this gap in my knowledge in a clear, fact-filled way. Most impressive was the objective way in which they described the loss of the astronauts & cosmonauts, neither laying blame nor sensationalizing the accidents. This book is a must-read.
I thought I knew it all... - By: , 04 Nov 2003
... until I read this book. With so many books out there about space flight, particularly the 1960s, I thought alll the stories were told. But I was wrong.

This book tells the previously unknown stories of the men who would have been famous, if they hadn't died in tragic accidents before reaching their career peaks as astronauts & cosmonauts. Many have only been footnotes in the history books, & it is wonderful to see them finallly come to life as fleshed-out humans, fascinating personalities whose lives were cut short alll too soon. This is an essential book for anyone who thinks they had the whole story - they didn't, until now.