The moments of grandeur and weakness, the aspirations, and the problems of America's test pilots and first astronauts are revealed in an exploration of the dimensions of their inner lives in space and on the earth. Reprint. 25,000 first printing. When the future began... The men had it. Yeager. Conrad. Grissom. Glenn. Heroes ... the first Americans in space ... battling the Russians for control of the heavens ... putting their lives on the line. The women had it. While Mr. Wonderful was aloft, it tore your heart out that the Hero's Wife, down on the ground, had to perform with the whole world watching ... the TV Press Conference: "What's in your heart? Do you feel with him while he's in orbit?" The Right Stuff. It's the quality beyond bravery, beyond courage. It's men like Chuck Yeager, the greatest test pilot of all and the fastest man on earth. Pete Conrad, who almost laughed himself out of the running. Gus Grissom, who almost lost it when his capsule sank. John Glenn, the only space traveler whose apple-pie image wasn't a lie. Foreword
xi
The Angels
1(14)
The Right Stuff
15(18)
Yeager
33(28)
The Lab Rat
61(24)
In Single Combat
85(17)
On the Balcony
102(25)
The Cape
127(14)
The Thrones
141(28)
The Vote
169(21)
Righteous Prayer
190(24)
The Unserewable Pooch
214(24)
The Tears
238(45)
The Operational Stuff
283(29)
The Club
312(19)
The High Desert
331(18)
Epilogue
349