Return to Earth

What happens after fame and success, when you no longer have control of your life? Buzz Aldrin by hard work, natural abilities, and good fortune; was in July 1969 one of only two people who had walked on the moon. This is the story of Buzz Aldrin, half of the book tells of his life from childhood until Apollo 13. The rest is what becoming famous did to him and his family. Return to Earth is most remarkable in the honesty with which it tells his story. This book is not a NASA press release, this is the rise, fall, and recovery of Buzz. This is the story on a grand scale of the everyone who has had their fifteen minutes of fame, and then has to ask now what?

Among all of the Apollo astronauts, where unusual personalities abound, Buzz Aldrin may be the most singularly unusual. He was also one of the most important. Selected in the third group of NASA astronauts in 1963, Aldrin was unique because of his Ph.D. in astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He had written his dissertation on orbital rendezvous and he applied this knowledge to solving one of the principal riddles of the space program, how to accomplish rendezvous and docking of two spacecraft in Earth orbit. Acquiring the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous" from his fellow astronauts, during Project Gemini Aldrin became one of the key figures working on the problem of spacecraft rendezvous in Earth or lunar orbit and docking them together for space flight. Without solutions to such problems Apollo could not have been successfully completed. Aldrin got a chance to fly on Gemini XII during November 11-15, 1966, and demonstrated the success of his rendezvous and docking work for all to see; he manually recomputed all the rendezvous maneuvers after the on-board radar failed Despite that critical work, Aldrin is mostly remembered for becoming the second man on the Moon, after Neil Armstrong, on the Apollo 11 mission. On July 20, 1969, he and Armstrong spent about 20 hours on the lunar surface. This mission made Aldrin, along with Armstrong and the third astronaut on the mission, Michael Collins, world figures. Aldrin chronicled in "Return to Earth" the flight of Apollo 11 and in many ways it was a courageous book. Aldrin had a delicate psyche. He was an intellectual who had a personal bent toward philosophy, reflectiveness, and sensitivity. Pushed to the brink by his overbearing father, Aldrin sought approval by overachieving. But he could never accomplish enough to satisfy his father and his failure to become the first person on the surface of the Moon signaled a fundamental failure, something he was spring-loaded to adopt anyway because of years of conditioning by his father. In "Return to Earth" Aldrin recounts the intense years working on the Moon landing program, the feelings of insecurity he always carried with him, and the excesses of celebrity. Aldrin explores in this book his experiences in the aftermath of Apollo 11; the deep depression, alcoholism, "nervous breakdown," and divorce after his return to Earth. It is a confessional and courageous memoir. It is also a powerful and moving story, one that has not been as appreciated as it should be, and helps to open the door to understanding some of the stresses on those associated with Apollo program. They accomplished a remarkable feat--perhaps the greatest in human history--but the price they paid was great as well. One cannot complete the reading of this book without gaining a new appreciation for Buzz Aldrin and his unique and exceptionally productive career.

He was the 2nd Man on the Moon . . . End of Story. ( Period )