The All-American Boys is a no-holds-barred candid memoir by NASA's second civilian astronaut. Walter Cunningham presents the astronauts in all their strengths and their weaknesses. From its insider's view of the astropolitics that guided the functioning of the astronaut corps to its thoughtful discussion of the Columbia tragedy, The All-American Boys resonates with Cunningham's passion for humanity's destiny in space. Cunningham brings us into the NASA training program and reveals what it takes physically and mentally to be an astronaut. He relates the story of the devastating Apollo 1 fire that took the lives of astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee and his own later successful flight on Apollo 7. This new edition includes his tell it like it is observation of NASA's successes and failures.
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"Cunningham's book is the best of all the astronaut books."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The All American Boys,
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This review is from: The All-American Boys (Hardcover)
Walter Cunningham is at it again, his first All American Boys book was a great hit and now the up dated edition with much added material. Any person interested in space and the lives of our astronauts will enjoy reading over and over again. The book will become a great collectors edition to any book collection on space and the men that risk their lives to go there. The book goes where no man has gone before, into the lives of our first astronauts and into the future of space travel. Walt tells a story of how it felt to be on the NASA team of astronauts and how the public and the press treated them. Walter Cunningham was as close as you can get to what was one of our first space program disasters being on the back up crew of Apollo 1. You can only wonder what it must have felt like for him to be on the back up crew of Apollo 1. What it must have felt like to be strapped into Apollo 7 with the memories of the men before him that gave their lives. Cunningham talks about this in the new edition along with the Challenger and Columbia disaster and where we go from here. This book is a must read book. Larry Hobson-Author "The Day Of The Rose"
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: The All-American Boys (Hardcover)
I have to admit that my favorite of the astronaut books is Mike Collins' "Carrying the Fire", but I think "The All-American Boys" has to be second. This book is essentially the personal observations and reflections from within the Gemini and (mostly) Apollo programs, and as an external bystander from the early days of the Shuttle until now. What I like about the book is Cunningham's candor, a trait he was always know for within the program, and willingness to discuss the less glamorous, and less appreciated aspects of an astronaut's life in the 1960s. Generally this type of book is fairly sanitized, and results in a glossy, picture perfect view of the Apollo program and its participants. Here Cunningham tells the story without pulling any punches. He attempts to give everyone their due, but in the end if he has negative information to convey he doesn't shirk from it. Others may disagree with his opinions (I do in a few instances: for example, I think he is unduly hard on Armstrong and Scott for their handling of their Gemini thruster problem), but he makes it clear at the outset that these are his views, and not the official party line. Many come out better than their average perceptions in the public (mostly because so many of these names are now generally forgotten), guys like Bill Anders and Rusty Schweickart, who really did some of the early pioneering that allowed the Apollo 11 and subsequent successes. Certainly the depiction of Conrad and Bean is very sympathetic, and reinforces their good guy personas with more detail devoted to their contributions than they normally get. Many come out worse, in some cases much, much worse. Many (but not all) of the Mercury 7 come across as self important, pompous windbags. I was particularly annoyed by Wally Schirra during the Apollo 7 mission. I had actually believed the position that Cunningham takes, namely that he and Eisele were trying largely to be team players while Wally was the one with the "Bull Moose Complex" (Cunningham's words) and temper that made the mission so agonizing for everyone, especially the ground controllers. Certainly Chris Kraft comes out as a very competent, but egotistical manager, and it still seems unfair that especially Cunningham's career was cut short largely through Kraft's efforts when he was really being painted with the same brush as Wally. (Donn Eisele also got a bit testy with the controllers, but Cunningham always showed restraint and deference. That has been established in numerous sources other than his own book.) Cunningham does not pretend to be perfect, and admits to shortcomings, while giving credit where it is due. He makes no bones about it, for instance, that he thinks Armstrong and Scott mishandled the Gemini thruster situation, by jumping to quickly to an emergency measure that scrubbed the remainder of the mission too quickly (I disagree), but also goes on to say that nobody could have flown the Apollo 11 landing better than Armstrong (I agree). Likewise he says that Scott's Apollo 15 landing was the best scientific exploration of the moon in the entire series. This dichotomy explains in a nutshell why I liked the book: Cunningham is unafraid to critique a performance, yet will turn around and give the same person kudos for other events. In other words, he recognizes and addresses the fundamental truth that each human has individual strengths and weaknesses. Particularly illuminating are his views on post-Apollo NASA, a giant bureaucracy that is slow to do anything and serves more as a political rather than a technical organization, especially under Dan Goldin in the Clinton years. The International Space Station, vis-a-vis Russian participation, particularly, is held up for scrutiny as the debacle it has become. Also discussed are institutional safety problems in the agency that led to the Challenger and Columbia accidents (Did we learn nothing from Apollo 1?), and the political appointment of astronauts based on politically correct social theories rather than professional competence. In summary, this book, along with "Carrying the Fire" are the two books by Apollo astronauts that actually show insight into the program from the inside. Read them both, they will greatly expand your understanding of what made Apollo great.
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The All American Boys,
By A Customer
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This review is from: The All-American Boys (Hardcover)
After reading Mr. Cunninghams book and working for NASA for a very long time, I understand where he's coming from. His book is right on, and then I read this persons review and see the reviewer hasn't got a clue to how NASA operates. Things were very different when Walt was one of our first true hero's. The reviewer stated that the book doesn't state true facts, they claims they are in criminology. Well they better stay there and learn a little more about space and the space programs and how the space program operates. I would highly recommend this book to everyone that wants the true facts.
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