Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime (Apogee Books Space Series) [Paperback]

Sy Liebergot (Author), David M. Harland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2008 | Series: Apogee Books Space Series

The first ever memoir written by a former NASA flight controller, this amazing story includes insider knowledge of Mission Control in the Apollo Era and depicts both the major events that shaped him and the major events that he helped to shape. From his work on the first Saturn V launch to his experiences as lead EECOM fight controller for Apollo missions 12–15, this is truly an insider's recollections of some of the epic events in the national space program. He even chronicles a trip to Russia to work in concert with the Russian flight control team during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, relating anecdotes and facts from the Apollo Era and beyond. Also included in this thrilling account is a CD-ROM containing rare and important documents and audio files from Sy's career.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sy Liebergot, in his book Apollo EECOM, gives us an outstanding example of the opportunities available in the United States. Sy takes us through his troubled past to earning his wings as a key player in our journeys to the Moon."  —Jim Lovell, commander, Apollo 13

"The world knows Sy Liebergot as one of the steel-nerved experts in Mission Control who helped save Apollo 13. Now he reveals, in his own words, that his entire life was preparation for that moment of truth. Sy's account is harrowing, touching, and inspiring —his story gives new meaning to the phrase, Failure is not an option."  —Andrew Chaikin, author, A Man on the Moon

About the Author

Sy Liebergot was the Lead EECOM Flight Controller for Apollo missions 12–15 and an EGIL (Skylab EECOM) for all of the Skylab program missions. He has appeared in the PBS series NOVA, the History Channel's Modern Marvels, and the acclaimed documentary Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back.  He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work with the Apollo 13 Operations Team. He lives in Pearland, Texas. David M. Harland is a space historian who is the author of Exploring the Moon – The Apollo Expeditions, The Story of Space Station Mir, and The Story of the Space Shuttle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc.; Pap/Cdr edition (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894959884
• ISBN-13: 978-1894959889
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,380,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great, personal insight., January 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime: Apogee Books Space Series 31 (Hardcover)

This book isn't one of those thick, literary historical tomes that we have seen a good many of in the last few years from former NASA managers. Rather, this feels like you have been personally invited into Sy's living room to sit on the sofa and look over his memorabilia while he tells you about it over your shoulder. It's a surprisingly frank and honest look at his life. Rather than trying to build himself up to be an historical figure, he pulls no punches with an account of a difficult, scrappy early life where he had to learn to survive his family, then work out how to leave and make something of himself. He tells this compelling story so well that I would have read it even if he had not gone on to join NASA - something I also felt when reading Scott Carpenter's account of his difficult upbringing in his recent memoir. When Liebergot moves on to his years at NASA, we get a refreshingly different account of how things worked there. Most other books on this era have been written by those in the upper echelons of management, but Liebergot here shows us what it was like for the footsoldier in the trenches, with a few little accounts of tempers lost in mission control and other disagreements that the official histories try and gloss over. Rather than do this as a tell-all, Liebergot includes his own failings in the mix - he doesn't hide the fact that he is now on his third marriage, nor the reasons. Liebergot was there for some of NASA's finest undertakings, and this book tells you what it was like from a human perspective - the weariness, the shortcomings, the oversights - that round out the picture very well.

In short, this is not a polished history of NASA at its finest hour. Rather it is a very loose, informal journey through one man's difficult life, and how he managed to wash up in the right place at the right time.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Succes Inspite of a Rocky Start, June 23, 2003

By 

Suzan Miles (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime: Apogee Books Space Series 31 (Hardcover)

My first thought after having finished reading the book was how sorry I was that it was over. Every night I would look forward coming home to read portions of the book and I did not want it to be over.

Sy kept the reader interested throughout the book by his fluid style, changing the chronology, inter dispersing related pictures to the topic at hand and above all by the story of his incredible life. He tells a story of how in spite of a traumatic and difficult childhood, it is possible to rise above it and become a valuable and contributing member of the society. This should be a required reading for all high school kids as it inspires and teaches accountability and tenacity in face of adversity while at the same time it teaches us about part of our history in America.

After listening to the CD, what I found amazing was how cool and in control Sy sounded while trying to save the lives of the astronauts and bringing them safely back to earth.

Even though Sy has every right to take credit for helping with the safe return of Apollo 13, he is not using this book as a self-promoting vehicle rather; he is portraying an honest picture of what happened while giving credit to the team as well as the individuals comprising that team and how they contributed to the success of our space program.

Although I have known Sy for many years, he did not share the Apollo 13 story with me until many years later and now after reading this book, I realize how humble he has been all these years and how he is entitled to brag about all the accomplishments in his life. I have always thought of Sy as a renaissance man - he has in-depth knowledge of many subjects and when he sets out to learn something, he becomes a master at it - this book certainly proved what I have known all along.

I have always been proud of Sy and now after reading his book, Apollo EECOM - Journey of a Lifetime, I feel lucky to have been his friend for all these years.

S.Miles
June 20, 2003

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flight Contoller's Story, June 8, 2003

By 

Mark Caterina (Niagara Falls, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime: Apogee Books Space Series 31 (Hardcover)

It's a general public misconception that the men and women of NASA's mission control are of a super-human lineage, intelligent to a fault and void of the emotions and problems associated with us lowly work-a-day folks. In his book "Apollo EECOM" Sy Liebergot takes us on an unforgettable journey through his life that dispels this common myth and reveals to the reader the purest human side of a man. Sy Liebergot rose above the troubles of his early life and through hard work, determination, and the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, allowed him to become intimately involved in the most daring of human endeavors, placing mankind's footprint's on another world. Step inside this seldom seen world known as mission operations and see for yourself how one man overcame almost unbearable obstacles and how his determination and dreams helped make the impossible, possible.