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Summary: Alan Shepard - Facade of Cold Steel
Review: "Light This Candle" delivers all that is promised. It reveals a complex man, driven to be the best. It provides added insight into the egos, triumphs, and tragedies of the early space program. Author Neal Thompson has done a masterful job of ferreting out the details of Alan Shepard's life from a wide range of sources without having had the opportunity to personally interview this man with a facade of cold steel. Thompson's effort shows us a man who does have warmth and compassion on the inside, but one must earn the privilege to experience it. Thompson writes with a casual style that reads well although he occasionally structures complex sentences to make you work a bit. Those who are knowledgeable of the space program may be somewhat bothered by numerous technical inaccuracies while others insulted by the occasional use of gross profanity and blasphemy. Mature readers generally know that military pilots like to punctuate their speech with shocking profanity to boost their macho image. Young readers do not need encouragement to do likewise. The errors do not detract from the characterization of Alan Shepard but gutter language depreciates us all. This should be a best seller, at least among aviation and space aficionados.
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Summary: 43 years later, we get to know the man, Al Shepard.
Review: Alan Shepard was the first American man in space - this occured on May 5th, 1961 with John F. Kennedy in office. I find it amazing that it took 43 long years to finally get some semblence of the affair in writing. Well, like the old saying goes - better late than never.
Author, Neal Thompson did an excellent job of explaining the growing up years of one of the most famous aviators in the world, Alan B. Shepard. He was courageous enough to print the truth about the man who was supremely confident in his physical as well as intellectual abilities. But all great men have their downfalls, as is well-documented in this book.
The first man in space may have only been up there for 15 minutes, but it was this brief shining moment of accurate performing that launched the legend that is Alan Shepard. He conquered Meniere's disease by having to first conquer and overcome his (bogus) Christian Science faith - - - and - - - no surprise, he was cured under the famous healing hand of Dr. House in Los Angeles.
I was intrigued to discover he almost commanded Apollo 13, but was reassigned to the next mission instead, due to preparation contingencies. This decision saved Shepard the near-disasterous mission that we know occured on Apollo 13 - what a close call! Shepard always did display this lucky streak that never stopped.
He also might have been up on Apollo 1 - but his ear problem started around that time and he was grounded.
It's as if a higher power was looking out for him and doing creative things to keep Shepard alive and well.
His ride was on Apollo 14; he was the commander and he did another perfect job, what else is new? What else did we expect from Alan Shepard?
His wife, Louise stood by his side, in good times and in bad for 50 years - she had a lot of competition out there with the Rocket groupies. Not to mention the stress of living with a high risk occupation. But he always managed to call her at 5:00pm most nights, except for those times he was staying at the Apollo Motel # 14.
This book was so interesting and mesmerizing - I read it non-stop for 2 days.....all 399 pages of it.
I could not put it down - I even drug it to work with me today.
There are some nice photographs in there, but I would like to see about 1000 more of the life and times of Alan Shepard.
Some people are born to live lives of extreme risk, challenge and unbelievable success.....and the rest of us can only imagine what it must have felt like to be in their shoes.
Shepard's life was very exciting indeed, and I wonder why on Earth did it take 43 years for this wonderful book to be published? THe truth may be a painful and bitter thing to taste, but it's the way things panned out in real life.
They had a huge ego and they stroked that ego one times too many. Why do risk takers take so many risks? Well, I suppose it comes with the territory of being a risk taker in the first place.
TODAY ---All of our famous Apollo astronaughts are aging; many have passed on to the big rocket ship in the sky, so reading about these incredible men and the incredible lives they lived is a real treat for all persons who wonder about such immense challenges. It is my sincere hope that all of them have books published about their biographies...they have lived and dared to fulfill outrageous dreams. THey are what make this country great in the eyes of the universe.
Before long, the Apollo moon walkers will be gone from the face of this beautiful blue Earth.
We need to know them - at least by biographies - we need to hear thier stories and understand their feelings before their ultimate count-down to zero is counted.
Please read this book! It's an excellent book!
It's the year 2004 and I can now say I know alot more about this man that held the facination of millions.....Alan Shepard - he was a great man who did great things, and lived life to the fullest possible.
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Summary: George S. Williams, please elaborate
Review: As a close follower of space exploration, I have read many of the biographies/autobiographies of the astronauts of the early space program and greatly enjoyed this book. In a review on this site, George S. Williams claimed it was poorly written and riddled with inaccuracies. Like other forms of writing, an editorial should provide support of your claim, so, Mr. Williams, I would appreciate if you could share with me and others specific aspects of the book that displeased you (I am more interested in falsities of the book than your disliking of the author's style). Please post a response on this website or email me at sbd218@nyu.edu
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Summary: Incredible
Review: As a fan of the movie "The Right Stuff", I felt it was only right to read this book. I read a review in my local paper and fell in love with the book. I read this book cover to cover, almost in one sitting. I could not put it down. It's a great read and if your an aviator, you will appreciate it that much more. I came away with a more profound respect for Mr. Shepard and for aviation in general. You will not be dissapointed!!!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: As a fan of the movie "The Right Stuff", I felt it was only right to read this book. I read a review in my local paper and fell in love with the book. I read this book cover to cover, almost in one sitting. I could not put it down. It's a great read and if your an aviator, you will appreciate it that much more. I came away with a more profound respect for Mr. Shepard and for aviation in general. You will not be dissapointed!!!
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Summary: Light This Candle : The Life and Times of Alan Shepard--Amer
Review: Astronaut Alan Shepard's initial public image was that of a brave Cold War hero, battling the Soviets for control of the sky. Later, Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff introduced other sides of the first American to enter space-the "Icy Commander" and party boy "Smilin' Al." Drawing on military records, FBI files, and interviews with Shepard's colleagues, relatives, and friends, freelance journalist Thompson provides the fullest portrait yet. The hero, it turns out, struggled with sports and academics as a schoolboy and was nearly court-martialed for reckless flying. The Icy Commander devoted the latter part of his life to fund-raising for charities. And, though Smilin' Al indisputably womanized (Thompson is too reverent to offer details, or perhaps Shepard was too discrete), his marriage lasted more than 50 years. Following a birth-to-death trajectory, this journalistic biography is not as much fun to read as The Right Stuff. However, it is the only adult-level title devoted to Shepard and does much to illuminate the life and personality of perhaps the most private and complex member of the Mercury Seven. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
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Summary: Alan Shepard - Write Stuff
Review: Having read most of the books about the glory days of NASA, this one stands out as one of the best. Unlike a number of the recent autobiographies of the astronauts, Shepard would not have written this book himself. He was too private a person. Thompson has written an engaging chronicle of what it takes to be the best of the best in the astronaut corps.
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Summary: Enjoyable book about one of the Right Stuff Astronauts
Review: I had fun reading this, but the author seemed to be guessing about some areas of Alan Shepard's life. Because Shepard himself never wrote an autobiography and gave few interviews, a lot of his life was loosely pieced together. It made me wonder if now, from beyond the grave, Shepard wishes he had just written a book himself so he could set the story straight! The lives of the 1st waves of astronauts is always interesting to read about, even though it was before my time. They were revered as celebrities and heroes, getting the covers of Life magazine, and ticker tape parades. This book does uncover some of the partying and hard living in Cocoa Beach that the newsmen of the day kept secret to protect the hero status of the astronauts.
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Summary: Couldn't put this book down
Review: I really enjoyed it! I and ate, slept and drank the Apollo program growing up. Alan Shepard was always my favorite astronaut and boyhood hero. I always wanted to know and understand him. This book gave me keen insight into Mr.Shepard and the space program. Light This Candle allowed me to reminisce about a wonderful time not only in my life, but this country's. I couldn't put it down!
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Summary: A good book no expert could love
Review: I second Colin Burgess's insightful review. Thompson's description of the flight portions of Apollo 14 is derived almost exclusively from Barbree and Benedict's unreliable "Moonshot" and, consequently, bears only a passing resemblance to reality. The critical events related to the abort switch and landing radar simply did not happen as described. In my work on the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, I have always found it useful to check astronaut memories against other sources. I can only wish that Thompson had exercised such care.
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