Rocketman: 7astronaut Pete Conrad's Incredible Ride to the Moon and Beyond

There are insufficient superlatives to describe the amazing life and many careers of Charles (Pete) Conrad. The first time I ever saw a NASA photograph of Pete following his September 1962 astronaut selection, I remember thinking how little he looked like the archetypal spaceman. Slight, unsmiling, balding and gap-toothed, he looked more like the guy who ran your local electronics store than one of his nation's fledgling space heroes. How wrong I was, because Pete Conrad emerged as one of the finest, boldest and sharpest of the early astronaut corps, with a wry, devlish sense of humour that even renowned astronaut punster Wally Schirra conceded he could never match. On paper, Pete's Gemini career may appear a little pedestrian to those who are not overly-familiar with spaceflight history - a long duration flight with Gordon Cooper in which the biggest problems seemed to be increasing tedium and finding places to stow the mounting trash, while his incredible, record-breaking Gemini 11 flight with Dick Gordon became sadly lost in the mounting excitement of the forthcoming Apollo program. Yet both of these missions were carried out with consummate skill by all three astronauts, and Pete was rewarded with the command of an Apollo lunar landing mission. In fact his crew could easily have been the first to touch down on the moon, but fate and early mission successes decreed that they would be second to do so. Despite being the third man to walk on the moon, he would later declare that his favourite mission was the one in which he and two crewmembers flew up to the ailing Skylab space station, where their actions and skill saved this multi-million dollar space project, along with NASA's hard-won reputation as a can-do administration. Of all those early space pioneers, the one whose story has been most eagerly anticipated in recent years has been Pete Conrad. While spaceflight aficionados may perhaps bemoan the lack of technical detail in this superb book, it is nevertheless about a stongly-dedicated man who strove to become an aviator and an astronaut against many odds, and it is a heartwarming story that is superbly crafted by the authors. His flight to the moon almost ended in catastrophic failure when two bolts of lightning slammed into their ascending Saturn V rocket and shut down many of Apollo 12's systems, yet he and his crew somehow solved these problems and then relaxed and resorted to mild levity all the way to the moon. That was Pete's way; solve the problem, solve it well, and then move on, but maintain that all-important sense of humour and an even keel. Sadly, we lost Pete Conrad all too early. He would certainly have been swept up in recent events that saw civilian astronauts fly into the very fringes of space aboard rockets launched from airplanes, and would likely have been at the forefront of a parallel venture. Spaceflight, and flying, intrigued him all of his life. Death, on the other hand, would have caught poor Pete

This book is first and foremost about the man - Pete Conrad. Being an astronaut, walking on the moon and the whole space program is a big part of it but the main course is the man himself - who he is and what makes him tick. Klausner (who seems to be the real author here) gets inside Conrad's head through all phases of his life: the child, the adolescent, the man, the astronaut and the "former astronaut". It is a blazing page turner that reads like dialog and captures the man, his adventurous life, and those who shared the ride with him.

Being more of an outdoors person and natural history buff,I am not usually a big fan of aviation and space-related items. My father, some of my uncles and a close cousin are however, prompting me to read Rocketman so I could discuss it with them when we gathered later this summer. I was thrilled to find Conrad and Klauner's book not only well written but fascinating. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it. I have to admit I'm converted and am now looking for more good books about the space program!

A smart and lively read. For a reader who reflects on space flight about as often as it grabs the headlines, this account of the life and motivation of an astronaut made for great entertainment. I enjoyed The RIght Stuff, and this is a great follow-up, but with the added insight of tracking the pre-and post-flight color of one of those originals. Will never quite step into an airplane or stare at the sky in the same way. . . .

Authors Nancy Conrad and Howie Klausner accomplished the impossible in The Rocketman. Since I was so fortunate to count Pete Conrad as a friend, I was able to evaluate the degree of success that the authors achieved in the very difficult task of writing this book. How is it possible to accurately emblaze Pete's life with the upbeat fun, astronomical success, and down to earth personality that was uniquely and gloriously his? Yet they did so magnificently. What a triumphant accomplishment! Since Pete was treasured by many, there naturally exists a tendency for the book to be challenged by an unfair level of expectation or criticism. Yet the authors were impossibly able to take mere black symbols on wood pulp and make the characters come alive with rich history and inspirational imagery. They were able to accomplish something even larger than what Pete Conrad might have wistfully desired as life's final result. Even though he left his footprint on the surface of the moon and indelibly upon the hearts of many, only the authors reached beyond that by giving Pete life beyond his years and extending to millions the joy of his presence, all within the cherished pages of this book. This great book launches beyond its five star rating, leaves behind most of the techno-jargon which typically saturates aeronautical titles, and positively impacts its readers long, long after its covers are reluctantly closed. You simply cannot miss this one.