Angle of Attack: Harrison Storms and the Race to the Moon (Paperback)

by Mike Gray (Author)
Key Phrases: tin benders, common bulkhead, umbilical tower, North American, Charlie Feltz, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Imagine a version of The Right Stuff whose protagonists are engineers rather than cocky test pilots-turned-astronauts. Author Mike Gray gives a gripping account of the men who led the North American Aviation Company through one of the largest and most daunting engineering projects in history, the development of the S-2 rocket engine, and the Apollo spacecraft. Filled both with detailed technical background and explorations of the psyches who drove--and were sometimes crushed by--the race to the moon, Angle of Attack offers a captivating look at the monumental accomplishments of a bygone era.

From Publishers Weekly
A look at the corporate and technological drama in the U.S. space program.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014023280X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140232806
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #760,372 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Was There, August 4, 2005

By	Conley S. Thatcher "Tpsicon" (Placentia, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't intend to write a long analytical review like some already posted. I just want to say that I was there at NAA as a young engineer during the period covered by this book. I absolutely loved the book. I couldn't put it down and wanted it to never end. To those critics who ask "Is it really true?", I can only say that those parts that covered events that I witnessed personally are uncannily in sync with my recollections. What an adventure it was! I don't think we could do it again, in today's environment, even with twice as much budget and time.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Story, but Can it be Believed?, January 7, 2004

By	Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a lively journalistic account of the career of Harrison Storms, president of the Aerospace Division of North American Aviation that built the Apollo capsule. Because of the Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts in January 1967, Storms and North American Aviation, Inc., got sucked into a controversy over accountability and responsibility. In the aftermath Storms was removed from responsibility for the project. The most important aspect of this book is its discussion of the Apollo fire and responsibility for it from the perspective of industry. It lays the blame at NASA's feet and argues that Storms and North American were mere scapegoats. It, unfortunately, has no notes and the observations offered in it cannot be verified. It is an interesting and lively account that should be balanced against the accident investigation records available on-line at: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollo204/

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Right Stuff with Engineers, August 19, 1999

By A Customer

One of the most fascinating and enjoyable space program books yet written, and one that starts to suggest the unvarnished version of events, including the concept that, gosh, NASA might not be beyond reproach when it came to Apollo stumbles and friction. "Angle of Attack" is particularly fascinating for exploring the business and management aspects of bidding, designing, and actually building the Apollo spacecraft, something I have not found elsewhere in print. Other very good books, Apollo: Race to the Moon (Murray and Cox), and Man on the Moon (Chaikin) tell the NASA as hero, flight controller as hero, and astronaut as hero stories, but little is said about what it took to get from concept to built craft. Further, much of the NASA derived stories have a "contractors are just tinbenders" attitude that not only is conspicuously self-serving to NASA, but shelters a whole lot of incredible effort from view. Having worked on large complex fast-track projects, having seen the bassackwards nature of demanding clients and the politics and the skirmishes, the messy environment of the mid-60's space program sure rings truer in this book than anything else I have read on the subject. This story exactly fits how large organizations and their people behave. And if you can find a more credible description of the political/media aspects of the Apollo 1 accident investigations, I'd like to see it. Some accuse Mike Gray of bias for telling North American's oral history rather than NASA's. I say it is for precisely that reason this is a valuable book. Read it, read the others, decide where the truth lies and how good of a guy Joe Shea is and all that on your own, but if you love the Apollo story, read this book.