AL WORDEN served as a support crew member for Apollo 9, backup
command module pilot for Apollo 12, and command module pilot for
Apollo 15's mission July 26 - August 7, 1971. After retirement from
active duty in 1975, Worden spent years in private industry before
becoming the Chair of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. He
lives in Vero Beach, Florida.FRANCIS FRENCH is director of
education for the San Diego Air & Space Museum and co-author of the
award-winning books Into that Silent Sea and In the Shadow of the
Moon.
From the Hardcover edition.
“The command module pilot (CMP), the second in command of an Apollo
spacecraft, was the least understood and least appreciated crew
member by the media and the general public. In Falling to
Earth, Al Worden, CMP of Apollo 15, clearly and candidly recounts
the wonder, the challenge, the triumph, and the pitfalls of flying
to the moon.”—Neil Armstrong, Gemini 8 and Apollo 11 astronaut“Ever
wonder what it would be like to spend several days orbiting the
moon—alone? Al Worden’s expressive description of his Apollo
15 mission takes you there, and then on the 250,000-mile return,
falling to Earth. This is not just another space mission
book. In his intense, tell-it-as-he-sees-it style, Worden
details what led to that wondrous experience and all that
followed.”--John Glenn, first American to orbit the Earth"The space
program first rewarded, and then punished, Al Worden—and he is
better for it, as this exceptional book reveals. It’s the
full story, told with clarity, insight, and humor, altogether a
wonderful read.”—Michael Collins, Gemini 10 and Apollo 11
astronaut, author of Carrying the Fire"A rip-roaring adventure—a
wry and fascinating chronicle of a time when we actually knew how
to fly people to the moon."—Tom Jones, space shuttle astronaut,
author of Sky Walking “Al Worden does a fine job telling his
interesting life story, his important role as the command module
pilot for the highly successful Apollo 15 flight—and his abrupt
firing as a NASA astronaut. The ins and outs of this latter story
and his personal fall to Earth make for especially fascinating
reading.”—William Anders, Major General USAF (ret), Apollo 8
astronaut“The talented men who made the pioneering flights to the
moon were test pilots and scientists, team players and egomaniacs,
goodie two-shoes and skirt-chasers, all driven by a shared goal—to
go higher, faster, further than anyone in history. Al Worden was
one of the best of this elite group: the first rookie astronaut to
be entrusted with the tricky job of flying an Apollo command
module, and ultimately a member of Apollo 15, the most
scientifically productive lunar mission. His story, written with
noted space historian Francis French, is a worthy companion to Tom
Wolfe’s The Right Stuff.--Michael Cassutt, co-author of Deke! and
We Have Capture"Very few of us flew to the moon, and the stories we
brought back with us are special, treasured, and unique. Al is both
a pilot and a poet, and his honest portrayal of our exhilarating
adventures will move and excite a whole new generation."
Buzz Aldrin, Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 astronaut, author of
Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon
KIRKUS REVIEWS
With the assistance of space historian French (co-author: In
the Shadow of the Moon: A Challenging Journey to Tranquility,
1965-1969, 2007, etc.), astronaut Worden, commander of the Apollo
15 module, writes that “it is time to…set the record straight”
about the scandal that ended his career in space flight.The author
flew under Colonel Dave Scott with Jim Irwin on the successful
1971 NASA trip to the Moon. When they returned to Earth, the crew
found themselves in the midst of a scandal, accused of being paid
to take souvenir items into space. Although they denied this, they
were grounded from then on. By the summer of 1972, the U.S. Senate
was involved, and Congresswoman Leonor Sullivan wanted to know
“what's going on at NASA.” They were never charged with violating
law or NASA regulations, but it took years for the three flyers to
get their good names back. Worden, now in his 70s, has a record
that speaks for itself. He is one of “only 24 humans” who have left
Earth’s orbit and gone to the Moon. The author describes how
astronauts need courage and skill to fly on the Apollo missions and
how they had to be prepared to deal with the unexpected: “We
focused on the events that could kill us and prepared for them.”
Apollo 15, with its on-board instruments and cameras, brought back
a treasure trove of data, but they faced many potentially dangerous
situations including fragments of broken glass in the weightless
environment of the landing module. Worden now helps the Astronaut
Scholarship Foundation fund the training of future science and
technology students. On his journey, the author “discovered
far more” about the Earth, not only from space, but also in the
time and effort spent vindicating himself from what appears to have
been an unfair scapegoating.
LIBRARY JOURNAL
Nine months after Worden’s (Hello Earth: Greetings from Endeavour)
return to Earth, NASA management moved him permanently out of the
astronaut office for allegedly profiteering from spaceflight. In
this autobiography, he addresses the accusations and how he cleared
his name. His focus, however, is on the first half of his life,
from childhood to his departure from the Houston space center; he
dispatches the last 40 years in two short chapters. The book’s
highlight is a detailed and fascinating account of training for and
successfully completing the first longer-stay lunar mission.
Although Worden clearly regrets sacrificing his marriage for his
career, kicks himself for getting involved in questionable
financial deals, and obviously has mixed feelings about his former
mission commander, he doesn’t dwell on the details or on his
emotions. In a low-key conclusion, the author claims he is
reconciled with most of his astronaut peers and on better-than-ever
terms with NASA. VERDICT A good, occasionally blunt read and a
worthy newcomer to the ever-popular genre of astronaut memoirs.
Anyone interested in the space program will enjoy Worden’s
reminiscences.—Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine, Orono
BOOKLIST
Apollo 15 astronaut Worden belongs to one of the most exclusive
clubs in the world: men who made it to the moon. His recollections
of events leading up to a three-day solo lunar orbit as well as the
heady days of the Apollo program would be fascinating enough, but
Worden is also the astronaut whom NASA shrouded in a cloud of
suspicion. Few people have known why until now, when this caustic,
no-holds-barred, former test pilot tells all. What readers will
discover is less tabloid tawdriness than controversy surrounding
the rare and valuable stamps, or postal covers, that have flown in
space. With NASA now officially flying covers onboard shuttle
missions, what happened to the Apollo 15 crew seems almost funny.
But it had a real impact on careers and friendships, and Worden
sheds invaluable light on how much risk we ask our heroes to endure
in exchange for little compensation. Worden is eloquent, witty, and
brutally honest, still in awe of the company he kept and the
history he belongs to. A solid addition to space-literature
collections. — Colleen Mondor
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