Product Description

Forty years ago, Buzz Aldrin became the second human - minutes after Neil Armstrong - to set foot on a celestial body other than the Earth. The event remains one of mankind's greatest achievements and was witnessed by the largest worldwide television audience in history. In the years since, millions more have had their earth-centric perspective changed forever by gazing at the iconic photograph of Aldrin standing on the surface of the Moon with the blackness of space behind him. He described what he saw as 'magnificent desolation'. The flight of Apollo 11 made Aldrin one of the most famous people on the planet, yet few people know the rest of the story. In Magnificent Desolation, Aldrin not only gives us a harrowing first-person account of the lunar landing that came within seconds of failure, as well as the ultimate insider's view of life as one of the superstars of America's space program, he also opens up with remarkable candor about his more personal trials - and eventual triumphs - back on Earth. From the glory of being part of the mission that fulfilled President Kennedy's challenge to reach the Moon before the decade was out, Aldrin returned home to an Air Force career stripped of purpose or direction, other than as a public relations tool that NASA put to relentless use in a seemingly nonstop world tour. The twin demons of depression and alcoholism emerged - the first of which Aldrin confronted early and publicly and the second of which he met with denial until it nearly killed him. As an adventure story, a searing memoir of self-destruction and self-renewal, and as a visionary rallying cry to once again set our course for Mars and beyond, Magnificent Desolation is the thoroughly human story of a genuine hero.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15057 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Review
`A compelling account not only of the [Apollo 11] mission and its impact on the world, but also the effects of becoming one of the most important figures of the 20th century overnight'
--Shortlist

About the Author
On 20 July 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed their lunar module on the Sea of Tranquility and became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Aldrin has since been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and more than 50 other awards and medals from the United States and other countries. He holds a doctorate in astronautics from MIT. Since retiring from the US Air Force and NASA, Dr Aldrin has remained at the forefront of efforts to ensure a continued leading role for America in manned space exploration. He founded a rocket design company, Starcraft Boosters, Inc., and the ShareSpace Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to opening the doors to space tourism for all people. Buzz and his wife, Lois, live in Los Angeles. Ken Abraham is a New York Times bestselling author, known around the world for his collaborations with celebrities and high-profile public figures.

Customer Reviews

Did Aldrin write this?
Having worked on Apollo at Kennedy, I am always eager to read the latest books about space history. While I realize that the bulk of this book has to do with Aldrin's problems he endured (and overcame) after the mission, I was quite surprised at the number and magnitude of the technical errors I noticed regarding the mission. It made me wonder just how much input Aldrin really had in the writing of this book. Surely he knows better.

A few examples: the book states that Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 reached an altitude of 62 miles (it went up 116 miles). The book repeatedly refers to multiple engines on the LM descent and ascent stages as well as on the Service Module; each of the 3 only had one engine. The book refers to the "dark side" of the moon; (there is no "dark" side, only a "far" or "back" side). Even the text on the LM commemoration plaque is misquoted. There are many more.

There is a photo whose caption states it is taken after Aldrin's Gemini 12 EVA. If this is true, who took it from outside the spacecraft? It is actually a photo (JSC image S66-59907) taken prior to liftoff. (The visor protective cover is still in place.)

All in all, I still enjoyed the book, but I am always suspect about the rest of the book when I am able to find so many errors in the parts I am familiar with. But these errors in no way detract from my admiration of the man.

Magnicicent Journey
Starting at the moon landing of Apollo 11 and moving on from there Buzz Aldrin's book shows the impact the being the second man on the moon had on his life and those around him. Never wavering from the truth Buzz talks in honest and open fashion about his personal problems with depression and alcohol abuse and his long slow recovery to again play an active role in shaping American space policy and inspiring the youth of today to take up the space challenge.

After reading some other astronauts books it's refreshing to see someone be so honest about being a hero with feet of clay, rather than quietly displaying the right stuff in every situation, but that only makes you warm to Buzz even more and make you realise that the astronauts were first and foremost human beings. Buzz's love of space exploration and his hope for the future of space travel are also fascinating and you can tell that here is a man who clearly loves the future and wants us all to go there with him.

If I have one criticism it's that we don't get to know much about pre-Apollo 11 Aldrin. There is a brief mention of time in the war in Korea and a few remarks about early times in NASA but it would have been interesting to read an account of Buzz's earlier Gemini 12 mission with that other great space hero Jim Lovell (who has also written a great biog) or some of the training which the astronauts went through as part of the moon project.

Overall through this is a great book about a unique event in history and the impact it had on one of the key participants I'd recommend it to anyone, not just space junkies, as a riveting insight into one of the key events of the late 20th century as well as a moving and supportive account of a man coming to terms with his own daemons and living to tell the tale.

A long journey in name dropping and shameless self promotion
For anyone seeking a unqiue insight into space travel, NASA history etc etc Magnificent Desolation is not the book for you.

There is no doubt that Aldrin is an exceptionally talented and gifted person who clearly has acheived many extraordinary things, however this book is nothing other than a long journey in name dropping, shameless self promotion and bouts of self absorbtion.