Customer Reviews

Moonwalker

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Charlie Duke does a nice job of telling his story from a small town in South Carolina to the surface of the Moon and back again. Duke does an admirable job of telling the story the way it happened. Knowing of his "born-again" status, I was unsure how Duke would tell the story. He is refreshingly honest about the toll the Astronaut years took on his family and marriage. Only when he finds Christianity does the issue enter the book. I was pleased, as often people who find religion tend to color the facts of their life previous to their conversion in terms of how they feel later. Certainly not a tell-all book, Duke seems to have a genuine like for those he works, and ultimately travels to the moon , with. If you are looking for a book that deals with the "everyman" who was fortunate enough to be chosen to visit the Moon, then "Moonwalker" is for you.

A well written book about an event that only 12 others have ever experienced: a moonwalk. Charlie Duke articulates the tale very well. His style of writing is reminiscent of the storytellers throughout the ages who have handed down stories from generation to generation, except of course here it is in print for all of us to enjoy. Charlie and his wife Dotty are quite honest about the sacrifices that were made not only by the astronauts but of their families and the damaged caused by the neglect due to the demands of the mission and of the space program in general. Charlie Duke carried the same drive that he showed as an astronaut into the business world and this of course continued the damage on the family relationships. Charlie and his wife Dotty are quite honest of the sacrifices that were made not only by the astronauts but of their families and the damaged caused by the neglect. The "awakening" of the Dukes comes from Dotty's faith which was renewed just as she was considering suicide. The transformation of both Dotty and Charlie is very inspirational but the book itself is not preachy at all. In fact only near the end of the book do we get to hear about their walk with God. The book ends with the death of Charlie's dad, now we need an update! A good book.

Having read this book- and met Charlie Duke in person,it is very much about how Charlie was touched whilst walking on the moon. It tells of his personal life- and what his thoughts were -during the time he spent with NASA- If like myself you are interested in the Astronauts who went to the moon,this book is for you.It tells of his journey in Apollo 16.how he was able to take samples back- and waht the moon was like.
During the Apollo era- many other Astros wrote books and told of their tales, each person is individual-I loved this book- because it is rather personal for me- knowing Charlie,and understanding why he chose to go to the moon.

Charlie Duke asked that question of himself after his return from the moon. It turns out that going to the moon was easy compared to the upheaval in his personal life caused by his absolute devotion to the job. The narrative of the moon landing and moonwalk is compelling and taut. You can feel the sweat, curse at the dust, feel the Lunar Rover underneath you, and jump in one-sixth gravity. You land in the Pacific Ocean with a thud and are greeted by millions of people as a hero.

In "Moonwalker", Charlie Duke describes the thrill of spaceflight, the joy and awe at seeing the earth from another planet, and the hard work and dedication it took to complete just one moon shot. The other side of this story is all too human. We see Mr. Duke's failings as a husband while his wife has to cope with his constantly being away, two small children and the everyday decisions and stresses while managing a household. His coldness toward his wife is hard to read about. As Charlie Duke describes it, the moon landing - not his wife - was the most important thing in his life.

After his moonwalk and return to earth there followed a couple months of parades, conferences, public relations and parties. The Apollo program was soon to be over, and the Shuttle was seven years away. Mr. Duke had to cope with 'what now?". The family life that he'd been avoiding all these years finally came home to bite him as their marriage fell apart.

The last part of the book deals with salvation. Dotty had been depressed for some time but had to hold the family together for the sake of appearances. She began to consider suicide to relieve her pain. But, just when it seemed hopeless, Dotty became born-again. With renewed purpose, she and Charlie were able to love each other again and continue through life with meaning and hope.

This books is about the truimph of man - technically and spritually. It's fascinating and uplifting. The human cost of the space program is often overlooked in books of this nature. I'm glad I read it because it says that no matter how hard life gets, there is a purpose.

"Wouldn't it be great to write a book relating all the emotions, the feelings, the things that the average lay person would like to know?" Inherent in this proposition is the suggestion that what is needed from astronauts is a telling of the Apollo 16 mission without the tedious jargon used by engineer buffs and aeronautic wizards.

Duke's autobiography, Moonwalker, vacillates between hick-ish idioms and brain-breaking mechanical terminology--after all, it is a story about spaceships and NASA. But the story of Apollo 16's space travels thrills the reader--especially fans of space exploration (i.e. Did you watch Apollo 13 more than once). Duke's narrative weaves a full and profoundly intimate tale about the NASA program and an astronaut's life.

Duke's re-telling of his post-astronaut life grips the heart just as much. The reader rises and falls with Duke's torments, personal struggles, and spiritual success. In all things Duke appears accessible and tangible, and effectively leaves the reader wondering, "When will we return to the moon? And when we will master the most basic elements of human existence?"

I've read almost all the astronaut books (see my reviews) and this is a good one. I had very little information on Apollo 16 so Charlie Duke filled in a lot of the info for me. Charlie did a good job about Apollo 16 and the moonwalk John Young ( the commander) and Charlie Duke ( the lunar module pilot) did getting Orion to and from the moon. I would of liked more info about the experiments Ken Mattingly(the CCM module Casper pilot did). Not much info given what Ken did in moon orbit while John and Charlie were on the moon.

There are some nice black and white pictures. Charlie did a good job detailing some of the other Apollo flights and gave much praise for the 400,000 people who contributed their effort to the success of the Apollo program. I gave the first 90% of the book a solid 4 stars. The book reads very well. There are no boring parts and the book is a page burner. I read it in a little over 1 day. The reader wants to read more.

I knew that Charlie Duke got much more religious AFTER his moonwalk. That was another reason I bought the book...to see what caused him to accept Jesus Christ more into his life. We see Charlie was a workaholic and studied very hard at Annapolis before going into the Air Force and MIT later to get his masters degree. We see his marriage to Dotty his wife and their two young sons affections suffered as Charlie gave them not as much time as he should. His efforts went into JOB 1, flying and becoming a test pilot and later an instructor at Edwards Air Force base and later an astronaut and much training as a backup for Apollo13 and then as the lunar module pilot for Apollo16.

We see the lack of attention Charlie gave Dotty. Dotty had thoughts of suicide even though see tried lots of work as a substitute teacher, volunteer work and more to try to have something important in life. Nothing worked for her as she got deeper into depression. Later see gave herself to Jesus Christ 100% and became a born again Christian. God tells Dotty to accept Charlie 100% as he is. Later Charlie while driving and stopping his car accepts Jesus Christ 100% and is told by God to love Dotty. Their marriage is saved by the grace of God. Later we see the laying of hands on some sick people and Charlie and Dotty praying for God's help.

To me the last few chapters were moving. Charlie shows he was a good church goer but that was not enough. He had to accept Jesus Christ 100% and Jesus would provide for him and Dotty. We see some of the later business deals that were successful with God's help. It got me to think I was like Charlie Duke going to church but not giving myself 100% to Jesus Christ. By reading this book I learned the value of accepting Jesus Christ 100% into my life and trying to improve my own marriage with the love and help of Jesus Christ. I will definitely read the bible more and ask Jesus for help and try harder to accept him more into my life. Thanks for the boost Charlie and Dotty from this book. With the later chapters on Dotty's and Charlies 100% acceptance of Jesus Christ raise this book to 5 stars. I appreciated Charlie showing the chapters and verses in the Bible to support what he was saying.

Even for the readers who don't believe in God or are only interested in the space exploration part I still recommend this book 4 stars on the 90% non religious part.

I loved this book. It's got great detail about Charlie Duke's "growing up" in the Air Force plus all the great nitty gritty details of astronaut training. There are lots of "behind-the-scenes" anecdotes that make the Apollo program so real. A surprising "rest of the story" wraps up the book with Charlie's and Dotty's personal faith testimony and is an excellent outreach to those who are seeking real peace in their marriages and personal lives. I highly recommend this book. Ex-fighter pilots will love it as well as normal people.

I once had an audio tape of Charlie Duke's testimony, and since I don't get to listen to tapes anymore, I hoped to find his book. Thankfully a used copy was available. The book was shipped to me quickly and in great condition!
If you enjoy reading about the adventures and challenges of the Apollo astronauts and /or like to read about how God impacts the lives of people, this is an excellent selection!

If you would like a copy, autographed by astronaut author Charlie Duke, try boggsspace.com

If you would like a copy, autographed by astronaut author Charlie Duke, try boggsspace.com