First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong ($14 @ Amazon) was a good book, enjoyed reading it. Some interesting tidbits in it. He learned to fly before he was old enough to drive, was a test pilot at the same time as Chuck Yeager (and has a interesting story about flying with him once), flew in Korea, and suffered the death of his very young daughter. All of that leads up to his decision to join the space program, and then talks about his involvement in it and some of the personalities from his perspective.
There was a certain amount of luck in ending up on the crew of the mission that would make the first moon landing, but after that there was some politics (not quite the right word) behind who would end up actually setting foot on the moon first. From this book it seems like that it was a deliberate choice to pick someone that would show well, during and after. Not sure I’ve said that well, but it makes clear that it wasn’t about who was closest to the door in the lunar lander. I don’t fault them for that – imagine you’re a senior manager deciding who will be first person to step foot on Mars. Do you want a person who lusts for the fame? Someone who looks good on TV? Someone that might try to milk it for the money? I can see that 40 years ago those were valid concerns, today I can see it being even harder.
Another odd part is there are no good pictures of Armstrong on the moon. Plenty of Aldrin (remember the one of him saluting the flag?), but the best one of Armstrong is a reflection in a helmet visor. Some attribute that to Buzz Aldrin deliberately not taking photos, but none were explicitly planned and both state that it was just overlooked in the moment – something that seems entirely reasonable, but still sucks!
After Apollo he became a professor, and is often referred to as almost hiding out, but the book shows that he has remained visible – working as a spokesman for Chrysler at one point, participating in the Challenger investigation, and more. Yet it is clear he prefers some privacy, and does the events that he wants to do. He quit signing autographs because they were constantly being sold (some comment there on society I think). He was divorced after 30 plus years and then remarried, tore off part of a finger (reattached) in an accident on his farm.
There’s a great story about him touring many countries after the landing and trying to learn some of the languages in an effort to connect with the audiences (it worked) made all the more interesting because he didn’t really enjoy public speaking. He’s also had to put up with the conspiracy theories about not landing on the moon (I imagine that grates!) and a continuing rumor about having converted to a mid east religion (I’m trying to not add to that) which he states is flat wrong.
He comes across as a quiet, thoughtful, no nonsense kind of guy. Was there someone who would have been a better representative, or done a better job? No way to answer that, but I feel like he did well and has presented America well. He’s also someone that I think I’d genuinely enjoy meeting and talking with.
