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T O P I C R E V I E WFFrenchI just finished reading Sy Liebergot's autobiography "Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime" and have to say, it is an excellent read, and much recommended to anyone reading this site. This book isn't one of those thick, literary historical tomes that we have seen a good many of in the last few years from former NASA managers. Rather, this feels like you have been personally invited into Sy's living room to sit on the sofa and look over his memorabilia while he tells you about it over your shoulder. It's a surprisingly frank and honest look at his life. Rather than trying to build himself up to be an historical figure, he pulls no punches with an account of a difficult, scrappy early life where he had to learn to survive his family, then work out how to leave and make something of himself. He tells this compelling story so well that I would have read it even if he had not gone on to join NASA - something I also felt when reading Scott Carpenter's account of his difficult upbringing in his recent memoir. When Liebergot moves on to his years at NASA, we get a refreshingly different account of how things worked there. Most other books on this era have been written by those in the upper echelons of management, but Liebergot here shows us what it was like for the foot soldier in the trenches, with a few little accounts of tempers lost in mission control and other disagreements that the official histories try and gloss over. Rather than do this as a tell-all, Liebergot includes his own failings in the mix - he doesn't hide the fact that he is now on his third marriage, nor the reasons. Liebergot was there for some of NASA's finest undertakings, and this book tells you what it was like from a human perspective - the weariness, the shortcomings, the oversights - that round out the picture very well. In short, this is not a polished history of NASA at its finest hour. Rather it is a very loose, informal journey through one man's difficult life, and how he managed to wash up in the right place at the right time. I still haven't even got to the bonus CD-ROM that comes with the book, but that looks to be fascinating background to the story as well. rsyngeI took Sy's book on holiday with me last month and much enjoyed reading it.But wait till you get to listening to the CD - the audio loop tapes from Apollo 13 are fascinating to listen to and well worth the price of the book on it's own!But why does Gene Kranz say "Tel-eh-mu" rather than "Telmu"? Sounds funny on the tape!?Sy LiebergotAs I reported in my book, Gene just could not pronounce TELMU correctly. Drove the Lemmies crazy.tegwilymGreat book Sy! Okay, I admit I still have a few more chapters to read, but I'm about 75% through it. I just keep getting distracted with other books, magazines and Mars landings that keep me up late.I've listened to the CD a bit, the Apollo 13 audio is fascinating, and well worth the price of the book itself. Great work!AztecdougI just finished this book this afternoon. It was a really cool read. I found it moved along at a nice pace and I kept on turning the pages. My 1 month old daughter and I listened to one of the tape loops from Apollo 13 today, but she couldn't keep up and took a nap. She did enjoy the book when I read it to her though. She smiled a lot.Now we want to track down the, "Buffalo Snort Chili," recipe from this site, and give that a go.Sy LiebergotAll, thanks for the nice words about my story. Here's the recipe: BUFFALO SNORT CHILIDump #13 lbs Mock Tender or lean Rump Roast1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes (crushed) 10 oz.1 can Beef Bouillon 10 oz.1 med. Yellow Onion (diced fine) Dump #22 clvs Garlic (minced)2 Jalapeno Peppers (pickled, mild)1 tsp Oregano 2 Tbl Cumin2 Tbl Chili Powder2 Tbl Paprika1.5 tsp MSG1/2 tsp White Pepper1 tsp Brown Sugar1/2 can Lone Star Beer Dump #3 (last 30 minutes)1 Tbl Paprika1 tsp Cumin1 tsp Chili Powder1 tsp Brown Sugar1/2 tsp Texas No-Doze1 tsp Salt (to taste) Water (As Req'd)PAM Dump #1 Cut meat into 1/2-inch cubes, then "grey" using PAM. Add to 4-Qt pot.Lightly sauté the onions (I minute). Add to pot.Add the Ro-Tel and Beef Bouillon to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Dump #2 Add these ingredients; simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. Check meat for tenderness.Add water as required. Dump #3 Final 30 minutes: Add these ingredients for final flavor "bump."Skim off any oil.Total cooking time: 2.5 - 3 hoursdss65I finished reading Sy's book a few days ago. I had held out buying the book, hoping to get a chance to buy one from Sy personally. I got a chance to do this in Burbank last month. (Actually, I had to buy the book separately at the show and then have Sy sign it.) Now that I've done that, I kind of wish I had bought and read the book first and been able to discuss it more with Sy when I had the opportunity to meet him. (Maybe I'll get another chance at a future event.)Anyway, I certainly agree with the above posts, and others I'm sure I've seen in more recent strings that I wasn't able to easily find and add to. We're lucky to have a man of Sy's accomplishments contributing to our board, and it was interesting and inspiring to read his account. The book certainly brings the program to a very personal level. I also agree that "Flight", "Failure Is Not An Option", then "Apollo EECOM" is the best order in which to read these accounts. Although in my case this happened by accident, it was a fortunate accident.Good for you, Sy, that you overcame everything that you did and accomplished so much. Thanks for your service to our country and to space travel, and thanks for writing a fine book.Sy LiebergotI can only reply with a thanks for all the kind words. Makes the effort worthwhile.mdmyerI just finished reading the book on Friday. It was great and I really enjoyed it. Sy's story is one that shows that any American can chose their own path in life and be successful no matter who they are. All it takes is some effort and hard work.FFrenchFor those who enjoyed the book - could I suggest posting a review on Amazon.com? It would be good to get the word out about this great book to those in the wider non-space community. Sy's personal story in the book is one that I think would appeal to every reader, as it has a universal appeal.randyMy copy of "Apollo EECOM - Journey of a Lifetime" was just delivered. I can't wait to dive into it!bthumbleDoes Mr Liebergot's book Apollo EECOM come in hardback, or is it available in paperback only?MCroft04I have a hardback copy (signed by Sy himself). So if it's not printed in hardback any longer you might be able to find a used hardback copy.Sy LiebergotSteve Hankow/Farthest Reaches should have autographed hardbacks.Marc05AI just purchased Apollo EECOM through Amazon.com, it's a great book but unfortunately, the CD-ROM was missing. I know it's copyrighted material, but is there any way I can get the content of the CD?Thanks a lot!
Rather than trying to build himself up to be an historical figure, he pulls no punches with an account of a difficult, scrappy early life where he had to learn to survive his family, then work out how to leave and make something of himself. He tells this compelling story so well that I would have read it even if he had not gone on to join NASA - something I also felt when reading Scott Carpenter's account of his difficult upbringing in his recent memoir.
When Liebergot moves on to his years at NASA, we get a refreshingly different account of how things worked there. Most other books on this era have been written by those in the upper echelons of management, but Liebergot here shows us what it was like for the foot soldier in the trenches, with a few little accounts of tempers lost in mission control and other disagreements that the official histories try and gloss over. Rather than do this as a tell-all, Liebergot includes his own failings in the mix - he doesn't hide the fact that he is now on his third marriage, nor the reasons.
Liebergot was there for some of NASA's finest undertakings, and this book tells you what it was like from a human perspective - the weariness, the shortcomings, the oversights - that round out the picture very well. In short, this is not a polished history of NASA at its finest hour. Rather it is a very loose, informal journey through one man's difficult life, and how he managed to wash up in the right place at the right time. I still haven't even got to the bonus CD-ROM that comes with the book, but that looks to be fascinating background to the story as well.
But wait till you get to listening to the CD - the audio loop tapes from Apollo 13 are fascinating to listen to and well worth the price of the book on it's own!
But why does Gene Kranz say "Tel-eh-mu" rather than "Telmu"? Sounds funny on the tape!?
I've listened to the CD a bit, the Apollo 13 audio is fascinating, and well worth the price of the book itself. Great work!
Now we want to track down the, "Buffalo Snort Chili," recipe from this site, and give that a go.
BUFFALO SNORT CHILIDump #13 lbs Mock Tender or lean Rump Roast1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes (crushed) 10 oz.1 can Beef Bouillon 10 oz.1 med. Yellow Onion (diced fine) Dump #22 clvs Garlic (minced)2 Jalapeno Peppers (pickled, mild)1 tsp Oregano 2 Tbl Cumin2 Tbl Chili Powder2 Tbl Paprika1.5 tsp MSG1/2 tsp White Pepper1 tsp Brown Sugar1/2 can Lone Star Beer Dump #3 (last 30 minutes)1 Tbl Paprika1 tsp Cumin1 tsp Chili Powder1 tsp Brown Sugar1/2 tsp Texas No-Doze1 tsp Salt (to taste) Water (As Req'd)PAM Dump #1 Cut meat into 1/2-inch cubes, then "grey" using PAM. Add to 4-Qt pot.Lightly sauté the onions (I minute). Add to pot.Add the Ro-Tel and Beef Bouillon to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Dump #2 Add these ingredients; simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. Check meat for tenderness.Add water as required. Dump #3 Final 30 minutes: Add these ingredients for final flavor "bump."Skim off any oil.Total cooking time: 2.5 - 3 hours
Dump #13 lbs Mock Tender or lean Rump Roast1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes (crushed) 10 oz.1 can Beef Bouillon 10 oz.1 med. Yellow Onion (diced fine)
Dump #22 clvs Garlic (minced)2 Jalapeno Peppers (pickled, mild)1 tsp Oregano 2 Tbl Cumin2 Tbl Chili Powder2 Tbl Paprika1.5 tsp MSG1/2 tsp White Pepper1 tsp Brown Sugar1/2 can Lone Star Beer
Dump #3 (last 30 minutes)1 Tbl Paprika1 tsp Cumin1 tsp Chili Powder1 tsp Brown Sugar1/2 tsp Texas No-Doze1 tsp Salt (to taste) Water (As Req'd)
PAM
Dump #1
Anyway, I certainly agree with the above posts, and others I'm sure I've seen in more recent strings that I wasn't able to easily find and add to. We're lucky to have a man of Sy's accomplishments contributing to our board, and it was interesting and inspiring to read his account. The book certainly brings the program to a very personal level. I also agree that "Flight", "Failure Is Not An Option", then "Apollo EECOM" is the best order in which to read these accounts. Although in my case this happened by accident, it was a fortunate accident.
Good for you, Sy, that you overcame everything that you did and accomplished so much. Thanks for your service to our country and to space travel, and thanks for writing a fine book.
Thanks a lot!
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