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The Right Stuff (Paperback)

~ Tom Wolfe (Author) "Within five minutes, or ten minutes, no more than that, three of the others had called her on the telephone to ask her if she..." (more)
Key Phrases: little engine, José Jiménez, danger wake, Air Force, Project Mercury, John Glenn (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tom Wolfe began The Right Stuff at a time when it was unfashionable to contemplate American heroism. Nixon had left the White House in disgrace, the nation was reeling from the catastrophe of Vietnam, and in 1979--the year the book appeared--Americans were being held hostage by Iranian militants. Yet it was exactly the anachronistic courage of his subjects that captivated Wolfe. In his foreword, he notes that as late as 1970, almost one in four career Navy pilots died in accidents. "The Right Stuff," he explains, "became a story of why men were willing--willing?--delighted!--to take on such odds in this, an era literary people had long since characterized as the age of the anti-hero."

Wolfe's roots in New Journalism were intertwined with the nonfiction novel that Truman Capote had pioneered with In Cold Blood. As Capote did, Wolfe tells his story from a limited omniscient perspective, dropping into the lives of his "characters" as each in turn becomes a major player in the space program. After an opening chapter on the terror of being a test pilot's wife, the story cuts back to the late 1940s, when Americans were first attempting to break the sound barrier. Test pilots, we discover, are people who live fast lives with dangerous machines, not all of them airborne. Chuck Yeager was certainly among the fastest, and his determination to push through Mach 1--a feat that some had predicted would cause the destruction of any aircraft--makes him the book's guiding spirit.

Yet soon the focus shifts to the seven initial astronauts. Wolfe traces Alan Shepard's suborbital flight and Gus Grissom's embarrassing panic on the high seas (making the controversial claim that Grissom flooded his Liberty capsule by blowing the escape hatch too soon). The author also produces an admiring portrait of John Glenn's apple-pie heroism and selfless dedication. By the time Wolfe concludes with a return to Yeager and his late-career exploits, the narrative's epic proportions and literary merits are secure. Certainly The Right Stuff is the best, the funniest, and the most vivid book ever written about America's manned space program. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Technically accurate, learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic . . . The Right Stuff is superb."--The New York Times Book Review

"One of the most romantic and thrilling books ever written about men who put themselves in peril."--The Boston Globe

"An exhilarating flight into fear, love, beauty, and fiery death . . . Magnificent."--People

"Absolutely first class . . . Improbable as some of Wolfe's tales seem, I know he's telling it like it was."--The Washington Post Book World

"Crammed with inside poop and racy incident . . . fast cars, booze, astro groupies, the envies and injuries of the military caste system . . . Wolfe lays it all out in brilliantly staged Op Lit scenes."--Time

"Splendid . . . It shows our propensity to manufacture heroes, and, just as quickly, to forget them; it shows how a scientific program was exploited for political advantage; it provides a revealing character study of seven exceptional Americans."--The Saturday Review

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Picador (March 4, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312427565
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312427566
  • Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.1 x 0.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,078 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #2 in  Books > Science > Astronomy & Space Science > Aeronautics & Astronautics
    #12 in  Books > Science > History & Philosophy > History of Technology
    #13 in  Books > History > United States > 20th Century > 1945 - Present

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More About the Author

Tom Wolfe
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Within five minutes, or ten minutes, no more than that, three of the others had called her on the telephone to ask her if she had heard that something had happened out there. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
little engine, José Jiménez, danger wake, lady bird, mighty integral, prime pilot, righteous stuff, transonic zone, procedures trainer, palmetto grass, bridge coats, rocket pilots, landing bag, peer vote, fighter jock, escape tower, cinch ring, great ziggurat
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Air Force, Project Mercury, John Glenn, Cocoa Beach, United States, Joe Walker, Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, Pax River, White House, Alan Shepard, Low Rent, Gus Grissom, Scott Carpenter, Chief Designer, Bob White, Chuck Yeager, New York, Second World War, Original Seven, Scott Crossfield, Lyndon Johnson, Gordon Cooper, Los Angeles, Bud Jennings
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

94 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (94 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Read the book, then go fly a jet, January 23, 2000
By B (NYC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Right Stuff (Hardcover)
In the early '80s, I was to graduate from school and got interested in flying for the US Navy. My mother sent a copy of T. Wolfe's book hoping to sway my dangerous intent and take a 'real' job. WRONG. About 9 months later I was soloing over Corpus Christi Bay and on my way to flying Navy jets.

Wolfe has written an epic that spans from the early days of flight test through the beginning of the US manned space program. It will increase the heart rate of aviators, aviation buffs and armchair pilots/astornauts. I highly recommend that anyone remotely interested in aviation/space read this book. While it may not be accurate to the smallest detail, the overall scope and feel for a era gone by can never be or has ever been captured in the history books.

Regarding Gus Grissom, new facts are coming to light that will clear his reputation. Wolfe does hammer Gus in the book about what was known at the time Wolfe wrote "The Right Stuff". However, all the research and reading that I have done, Gus was probably the smartest engineer and best test pilot of the M-7 astronauts . He had a reputation of being a real nuts and bolts engineer and a hard nose pilot. He could handle any situation while flying experitmental aircraft or on the ground discussing craft/engine design with NASA's engineers. If any one has ever seen the old NASA films of the Apollo program, when Gus is doing the radio tests on that fateful day, he really gives the engineers hell from the capsule owing to poor communication on the radios "Jesus Christ, we can't talk between three building, how the hell are we going to talk on the moon." Classic Gus. Ironically, when Apollo One caught fire moments later, the hatch was redesigned not to repeat the same incident that happened to Gus in Liberty Bell 7 - and Gus, Chaffee and White paid the ultimate price.

Read this book. It is one of the best books I have ever read and was a real inspiration during my Navy days and beyond.

Bondo

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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute classic, July 22, 2000
This review is from: The Right Stuff (Paperback)
As good as "The Right Stuff" is as a movie, the book is even better. Thomas Wolfe's account of post war American test pilots and the first American astronauts is frank, amusing, moving and ultimately triumphant. Wolfe humanzies the cocky heroes that made America's space program successful. He punctures the myths that have grown up around such legendary men as Chuck Yeager, John Glenn and Alan Shepard and portrays them honestly, warts and all. The test pilot sequences and the onerous astronaut training are the best parts, but the whole book is utterly fascinating. "The Right Stuff" may very well be the best aviation story ever written.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Right Book, April 23, 2006
This review is from: The Right Stuff (Paperback)
What Wolfe always does well is understand his characters motivations. Al Shephard - Smilin' Al of the Cape/Icy Commander - , Chuck Yeager, John Glenn "the flying monk" - are all sliced and diced by Wolfe's samurai sharp, if not unsympathetic, sword. A brilliant work on patriotism, heroism and American masculinity, with none of the dull twaddle that characterises Wolfe's later works (particularly Man in Full).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Great book, KINDLE version FULL OF ERRORS
Great book, completely flubbed by Amazon. Is it so hard to run a spell check on a Kindle manuscript before publishing it? Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ranty

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most entertaining nonfiction books I've read
Wolfe really keeps you on the edge of your seat, and despite being accused of taking liberties with the literal truth still creates a book that will teach you a great deal about... Read more
Published 1 month ago by I. Travel

5.0 out of 5 stars Generation Lost In Space
I picked up The Right Stuff, expecting to read a detailed history of the US space program; from the breaking of the sound barrier to the Moon landing. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Robert Freeman

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but too sensational, and not historically accurate enough
This book covers a fascinating period in America's history, and the fascinating handful of men who became America's first astronauts. Read more
Published 4 months ago by William Runge

5.0 out of 5 stars Near Perfect
From the first lines of this book, I was hooked. Tom Wolfe has such an easy way of bringing to life such an amazing time in American history. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Stephen Freeborn

2.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, but Kindle edition riddled with errors
I've owned "The Right Stuff" for over thirty years in print form. I downloaded the Kindle version from Amazon to take with me on business trips. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Phoenix Rising

5.0 out of 5 stars The REAL American Idols
I woke up this morning thinking about this book and the wonderful movie that followed. Being true to my instincts I will now read it again for the first time in 20 years. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Margaret Kohut

5.0 out of 5 stars better than I expected
From the sound of it, a book about astronauts sounds like it would be interesting. But if you really think about it, do you really care to know every detail of the story of... Read more
Published 9 months ago by N

4.0 out of 5 stars The Beginning of Manned Spaceflight!
Tom Wolfe's research for The Right Stuff, is more historically accurate than the movie version. The book was warmly received by the astronaut community, especially among the... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Cecil Elliott, Jr.

5.0 out of 5 stars Zeitgeist of 50s and 60s in Full
Having seen the movie before reading the book, I expected Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF to be good. I was surprised how good it turned out to be in capturing the mood of the America in... Read more
Published 16 months ago by D. Olinger

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