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Title: For Spacious Skies: The Uncommon Journey of a Mercury Astronaut by Scott Carpenter, Kris Stoever ISBN: 0-15-100467-6 Publisher: Harcourt Pub. Date: 27 January, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.42 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Superb
Comment: Scott Carpenter was selected as one of the original seven Mercury Astronauts on April 9, 1959 and flew the second American manned orbital flight on May 24, 1962. This flight was only the fourth manned launch for the United States. During his flight aboard the Aurora 7 spacecraft, he made three revolutions of the Earth, reaching a maximum altitude of 164 miles for a total flight time of 4 hours and 54 minutes. With the exception of Deke Slayton, who was sidelined with heart arrhythmia, Scott Carpenter is the only Mercury Seven astronaut who only made one spaceflight. As one would probably expect, including this reader, with such a small amount of space flight to his name that there could hardly be much to write about. I must, however, admit I was wrong and Scott Carpenter and his daughter have written a wonderful and extremely interesting book about his life from his birth to his leaving NASA.
The book opens with quite a lengthy section about Scott Carpenter's childhood from age two when he left New York and moved to Colorado through his high school years, which is about a fifth of the book. Such a long section devoted to one's youth is atypical of most astronaut biographies, however, this portion book serves an excellent introduction to the man's character. In contrast to the other Mercury Seven astronauts who came from the traditional 1920's family setting, he was raised by maternal grandparents, because of an absent father and a mother who suffered tuberculosis. He feels that this upbringing gave him the abilities to become an astronaut, but also led to him to three failed marriages ending in divorced and a final fourth marriage. .
A few years after he enters high school, the United States becomes involved in World War II and upon graduation he joins the Navy's V12 program where receives pilot training and a college education. Even though the war ends before he sees combat, he eventually chooses a career as Navy pilot which moves him through a variety of interesting assignments from patrol aircraft to test piloting.
The remaining half of the book covers the selection process of the Mercury 7 group, the selection, the subsequent training and his eventual three-orbit flight. This section contains much more information on the selection process and training of the Mercury 7 astronauts than any other first hand account. Very little, however, is devoted to his post-flight life other than a few pages. In this section, many of the questions that have dogged him since his selection are answered. For example, "Why was he chosen especially when one compares his flight and test piloting record to those of his peers?" "Why did he only fly once?" and well as other question are addressed. I'll leave it to the readers to discover the answers to these questions. I promise you'll be surprised.
Those familiar with the Chris Kraft book, Flight, know that Mr. Kraft has an extremely low opinion of Scott Carpenter and his skill at piloting a spacecraft. In this book, Scott Carpenter recounts his spaceflight, using both his personal recollection and ground to air and air to ground transcripts which allows the reader to make up his mind on who is blame. It is has always been my opinion that the truth usually lies in between the two.
As I said earlier, I was amazed that the astronaut with the shortest amount of total flight time could actually write a book about his life as an astronaut. I must, however, admit I was wrong and Scott Carpenter along his daughter have written a wonderful and extremely interesting book that definitely is one of the better astronaut biographies.
Rating: 5
Summary: Simply Outstanding ... One of the Best!
Comment: Having just finished reading a train wreck (aka Tom Stafford's almost incomprehensible "We have Capture") and with lingering memories of Gordo Cooper's bizarre & error-filled "Leap of Faith", I wasn't holding out much hope for Carpenter's book ... I couldn't have been more wrong.
"For Spacious Skies" written by Scott Carpenter and his daughter Kris Stoever is the most intensely personal and one of the best-written of the astronaut biographies - ranking right up there with Collins' "Carrying the Fire" and Cernan's "Last Man on the Moon."
Carpenter's unusual childhood - a combination of a very ill mother and an absentee distant father - is covered in painstaking detail through amazing collection of personal letters and recollections.
Carpenter also provides great insight into the Mercury astronaut selection process and details the impact of 'sudden fame' on the astronauts' families. Of interest to space scholars is Carpenter's account of the sudden-grounding of Deke Slayton resulting in his (Carpenter's) unexpected elevation to flight status - over the strenuous objections of a less-than-pleased Wally Schirra.
Unfairly dismissed as a 'lightweight' by many of his colleagues for his near-disasterous Mercury mission, Carpenter sets the record straight. He outlines the myriad of problems and hardware failures during his 1962 mission and their impact on his flight - for instance, the cabin temperature in his spacecraft exceeded 100 degrees F during most of his flight. He also blows holes in the long-standing myth propogated by Flight Director Chris Kraft that Carpenter somehow 'bungled' his flight and refocuses much of the blame back on Kraft himself.
"For Spacious Skies" is detailed enough for space enthusiasts but, more importantly, the book is an intriguing personal portrait that will fascinate casual readers as well.
Highly recommended!
Rating: 4
Summary: We Finally Hear Carpenter's Story
Comment: Scott Carpenter has the worst reputation of the Mercury Seven. Chris Kraft's book "Flight" dedicates a complete chapter to attacking Carpenter. Using numerous footnotes, the book references many NASA reports which cite a mechanical failure which nearly doomed his mission.
The book seems to be a family history written by Carpenter's daughter, Kris Stoever. Thus, the reader must adjust to reading about Carpenter in the third person. Carpenter does take over in the chapters about his flight, writing in the first person. Adding to the difficulty reading the book, the writers assume that the reader can keep track of the year different events happened. However, the story is not chronilogical, so one must guess at the year when signifigant events (child birth, transfer to a new Navy base) occur. Too bad this book did not do a better job of completing the timeline for the reader. Particularly surprising his how Carpenter's last three marriages are summarized in a 6-line paragraph on the second to last page.
I recommend reading this book if you want to hear Carpenter's view of his flight. But be prepared to for a bumpy ride, as the book is not pulled together into the consistent story one would expect.
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Title: We Have Capture: Tom Stafford and the Space Race by Thomas P. Stafford, Michael Cassutt ISBN: 1588340708 Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press Pub. Date: 20 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The All-American Boys by Walter Cunningham ISBN: 0743458494 Publisher: I Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Last Man on the Moon : Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space by Donald A. Davis ISBN: 0312199066 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Schirra's Space (Bluejacket Books) by Wally Schirra, Walter M. Schirra, Richard Billings ISBN: 1557507929 Publisher: United States Naval Inst. Pub. Date: October, 1995 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Apollo Eecom: Journey of a Lifetime (Apogee Books Space Series) by Sy Liebergot, David M. Harland, Ron Howard ISBN: 1896522963 Publisher: Apogee Books Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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