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First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

Author:
James R. Hansen
Read by:
Jeremy Bobb
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Unabridged Audiobook

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Ratings
Book
36
Narrator
1
Release Date
May 29, 2018
Duration
16 hours 26 minutes
Summary
Now a major motion picture, this is the first—and only—definitive authorized account of Neil Armstrong, the man whose “one small step” changed history.

When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. In First Man, author James R. Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over fifty hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this “magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon.

In this “compelling and nuanced portrait” (Chicago Tribune) filled with revelations, Hansen vividly recreates Armstrong’s career in flying, from his seventy-eight combat missions as a naval aviator flying over North Korea to his formative trans-atmospheric flights in the rocket-powered X-15 to his piloting Gemini VIII to the first-ever docking in space. For a pilot who cared more about flying to the Moon than he did about walking on it, Hansen asserts, Armstrong’s storied vocation exacted a dear personal toll, paid in kind by his wife and children. For the near-fifty years since the Moon landing, rumors have swirled around Armstrong concerning his dreams of space travel, his religious beliefs, and his private life.

A penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and as an individual. “First Man burrows deep into Armstrong’s past and present…What emerges is an earnest and brave man” (Houston Chronicle) who will forever be known as history’s most famous space traveler.
Reviews
Profile Avatar Anonymous Feb 2025

Perfection

Profile Avatar Deacon Daniel J. Mar 2019

First Man is an excellent book and I enjoyed it from start to finish. As a child of the 60's - the moon landings were things of magic. To understand what is was like for Neil Armstrong and what he gave to the manned space program was extremely interesting. To also know what he was like as a real person helped to fill in parts of that entire time frame. This is a great book and completely different from the movie of the same name.

First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

Author: James R. Hansen
Read by: Jeremy Bobb
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