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brittany_taylor13's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
indefati9able's review against another edition
3.0
"When I landed on Chapter 27..."
Although it was way too technical in the beginning (which probably would appeal to an aviator, a pilot, or an aviation enthusiast, but not to a ground dweller such as myself) I did enjoy Hansen's biography of Neil A. Armstrong and was immersed in it until Chapter 27 when he wrote about whether Neil Armstrong took anything to the Moon for his daughter Karen. What I'm quoting below detached me from the story and occupied my head afterward with protest and a bit anger at the author:
"... Another loved one that Neil apparently did not remember by taking anything of hers to the Moon was his daughter Karen. [1] What could have made the first Moon landing more meaningful for all mankind than a father honoring the cherished memory of his beloved little girl by taking a picture of the child, dead now over 7 years--she would have been a ten year old--one of her toys, an article of her clothing, a lock of her hair, her baby bracelet. [2] What if Neil did something for Muffie but never told anyone about it? Not even Janet because it was of such an intensely personal nature. [3] How much more would posterity esteem the character of the First Man? It could have elevated the first Moon landing to an even higher level of significance."
So, the first Moon landing itself, AS-IS, was not "significant" or "meaningful" enough that it also needed something "intensely personal" and not to mention private out of Neil Armstrong such as taking something of his daughter to the Moon? Maybe, he did and didn't want to share it with anybody as the author himself states. [2] He doesn't know. Nobody knows. And, nobody needs to know--nobody other than Neil Armstrong, whom the entire world knew as a very private person, whom also Hansen portrays as such in this book. Hansen is [3] patronizing and [1] condescending. After this passage, I have lost respect of what the author had to say about Neil Armstrong, who sounded like he wasn't up to the author's moral standards when it came to what personal stuff to take to the Moon and how greater the whole thing would have been if the First Man told the world what, if any, of his daughter he took with him.
Although it was way too technical in the beginning (which probably would appeal to an aviator, a pilot, or an aviation enthusiast, but not to a ground dweller such as myself) I did enjoy Hansen's biography of Neil A. Armstrong and was immersed in it until Chapter 27 when he wrote about whether Neil Armstrong took anything to the Moon for his daughter Karen. What I'm quoting below detached me from the story and occupied my head afterward with protest and a bit anger at the author:
"... Another loved one that Neil apparently did not remember by taking anything of hers to the Moon was his daughter Karen. [1] What could have made the first Moon landing more meaningful for all mankind than a father honoring the cherished memory of his beloved little girl by taking a picture of the child, dead now over 7 years--she would have been a ten year old--one of her toys, an article of her clothing, a lock of her hair, her baby bracelet. [2] What if Neil did something for Muffie but never told anyone about it? Not even Janet because it was of such an intensely personal nature. [3] How much more would posterity esteem the character of the First Man? It could have elevated the first Moon landing to an even higher level of significance."
So, the first Moon landing itself, AS-IS, was not "significant" or "meaningful" enough that it also needed something "intensely personal" and not to mention private out of Neil Armstrong such as taking something of his daughter to the Moon? Maybe, he did and didn't want to share it with anybody as the author himself states. [2] He doesn't know. Nobody knows. And, nobody needs to know--nobody other than Neil Armstrong, whom the entire world knew as a very private person, whom also Hansen portrays as such in this book. Hansen is [3] patronizing and [1] condescending. After this passage, I have lost respect of what the author had to say about Neil Armstrong, who sounded like he wasn't up to the author's moral standards when it came to what personal stuff to take to the Moon and how greater the whole thing would have been if the First Man told the world what, if any, of his daughter he took with him.
austinm202's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
curtmize's review against another edition
4.0
This is a wonderful, compassionate, and balanced biography of a soft-spoken man. Anyone interested in space or aeronautical history should read it.
booksareamood's review against another edition
3.75
A good, comprehensive overview of the man with the famous name - Neil Armstrong. For the most part, this book was interesting, medium paced and I enjoyed it. For other parts, it was too slow and too technical for me - but I respect that this book was not written for everyone's tastes; it's meant to be a comprehensive biography. I did think some of the technical detail would be better placed elsewhere, like in an appendix.
One issue I had was this book, was that I found it bias at times. To say he had 'the most flight hours' 'the best this' 'the best that'. I agree that he was an exceptional man - engineer, pilot, astronaut - but I don't think the level of celebrity is proportionate to the man. Other astronauts were extremely capable too, Armstrong was just picked for this mission.
Secondly, I really disliked how Aldrin seemed to be quite put down in this book. This wasn't from direct quotes from Armstrong, more from cherry picked facts and quotes from others.
One issue I had was this book, was that I found it bias at times. To say he had 'the most flight hours' 'the best this' 'the best that'. I agree that he was an exceptional man - engineer, pilot, astronaut - but I don't think the level of celebrity is proportionate to the man. Other astronauts were extremely capable too, Armstrong was just picked for this mission.
Secondly, I really disliked how Aldrin seemed to be quite put down in this book. This wasn't from direct quotes from Armstrong, more from cherry picked facts and quotes from others.
hrishivish23's review against another edition
5.0
This is an incredibly inspiring tale of one of the greatest American heroes the world has known. The author is exceptionally descriptive and precise in describing the technical and engineering details of the Apollo mission and Neil’s early days as a test pilot, which take up a huge chunk of the book. This is a truly fascinating and engaging story.