The All-American Boys

I have to admit that my favorite of the astronaut books is Mike Collins' "Carrying the Fire", but I think "The All-American Boys" has to be second. This book is essentially the personal observations and reflections from within the Gemini and (mostly) Apollo programs, and as an external bystander from the early days of the Shuttle until now. What I like about the book is Cunningham's candor, a trait he was always know for within the program, and willingness to discuss the less glamorous, and less appreciated aspects of an astronaut's life in the 1960s. Generally this type of book is fairly sanitized, and results in a glossy, picture perfect view of the Apollo program and its participants. Here Cunningham tells the story without pulling any punches. He attempts to give everyone their due, but in the end if he has negative information to convey he doesn't shirk from it. Others may disagree with his opinions (I do in a few instances: for example, I think he is unduly hard on Armstrong and Scott for their handling of their Gemini thruster problem), but he makes it clear at the outset that these are his views, and not the official party line. Many come out better than their average perceptions in the public (mostly because so many of these names are now generally forgotten), guys like Bill Anders and Rusty Schweickart, who really did some of the early pioneering that allowed the Apollo 11 and subsequent successes. Certainly the depiction of Conrad and Bean is very sympathetic, and reinforces their good guy personas with more detail devoted to their contributions than they normally get. Many come out worse, in some cases much, much worse. Many (but not all) of the Mercury 7 come across as self important, pompous windbags. I was particularly annoyed by Wally Schirra during the Apollo 7 mission. I had actually believed the position that Cunningham takes, namely that he and Eisele were trying largely to be team players while Wally was the one with the "Bull Moose Complex" (Cunningham's words) and temper that made the mission so agonizing for everyone, especially the ground controllers. Certainly Chris Kraft comes out as a very competent, but egotistical manager, and it still seems unfair that especially Cunningham's career was cut short largely through Kraft's efforts when he was really being painted with the same brush as Wally. (Donn Eisele also got a bit testy with the controllers, but Cunningham always showed restraint and deference. That has been established in numerous sources other than his own book.)Cunningham does not pretend to be perfect, and admits to shortcomings, while giving credit where it is due. He makes no bones about it, for instance, that he thinks Armstrong and Scott mishandled the Gemini thruster situation, by jumping to quickly to an emergency measure that scrubbed the remainder of the mission too quickly (I disagree), but also goes on to say that nobody could have flown the Apollo 11 landing better than Armstrong (I agree). Likewis

After reading Mr. Cunninghams book and working for NASA for a very long time, I understand where he's coming from. His book is right on, and then I read this persons review and see the reviewer hasn't got a clue to how NASA operates. Things were very different when Walt was one of our first true hero's. The reviewer stated that the book doesn't state true facts, they claims they are in criminology. Well they better stay there and learn a little more about space and the space programs and how the space program operates. I would highly recommend this book to everyone that wants the true facts.

Walter Cunningham is at it again, his first All American Boys book was a great hit and now the up dated edition with much added material. Any person interested in space and the lives of our astronauts will enjoy reading over and over again. The book will become a great collectors edition to any book collection on space and the men that risk their lives to go there. The book goes where no man has gone before, into the lives of our first astronauts and into the future of space travel. Walt tells a story of how it felt to be on the NASA team of astronauts and how the public and the press treated them. Walter Cunningham was as close as you can get to what was one of our first space program disasters being on the back up crew of Apollo 1. You can only wonder what it must have felt like for him to be on the back up crew of Apollo 1. What it must have felt like to be strapped into Apollo 7 with the memories of the men before him that gave their lives. Cunningham talks about this in the new edition along with the Challenger and Columbia disaster and where we go from here. This book is a must read book. Larry Hobson-Author "The Day Of The Rose"

Walter has surpassed even my expectations of this version of the All American Boys. Those expectations were fairly high because, knowing Walt, it was reasonable to anticipate a clear, articulate and straight forward text of his experiences as well as the unadulterated story of NASA. The public image of organizations is, almost without exception, distinctively different from the internal mechanisms and politics. Those who labor in a professional office, business or educational institution, and even within a family, are aware of that truism.The All American Boys demonstrates that the highs and lows, the public persona and the internal Byzantine power struggles within NASA have been alive and well since its creation as nation's premier scientific agency. I would describe Walter's work as a combination of Days of Our Life and MacGyver. Order it, read it, and it will occupy a worthy place on your bookshelf.

I read The All-American Boys when it was first released and found it to be captivating then. Since that time, I have married a NASA pilot and become very involved in the NASA community. The book is even better the second time around - plus astronaut Cunningham has a great take on our partnership with the Russians, current NASA management and the recent loss of the space shuttle Columbia. This book really does "tell it like it is" - it is a fascinating story for anyone, space fan or not!