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  One Giant Leap: Neil Armstrong's Stellar American Journey (Wagener)

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Author Topic:   One Giant Leap: Neil Armstrong's Stellar American Journey (Wagener)
hinkler
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Posts: 573
From: Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-06-2004 05:25 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for hinkler   Click Here to Email hinkler     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
One Giant Leap: Neil Armstrong's Stellar American Journey
by Leon Wagener
On July 20, 1969, the whole world stopped. It was the day when a man who grew up on a farm without electricity announced, "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." But the world never knew how truly dangerous this quest was.

Armstrong and his crew's extraordinary mission was a long, complex chain of events, at least 50 percent likely to snap at one delicate point or another and end in failure or worse. As the mission unfolded, those in the know about the daunting task the astronauts faced held their breath. The President of the United States, Richard Nixon, ordered their eulogy prepared for him to read on national television.

In this, the first-ever biography of Neil Armstrong, Leon Wagener explores the man whose walk on the moon is still compared to humankind's progenitor's crawl out of the primordial ooze---and whose retreat back to a farm in his native Ohio soon after the last ticker-tape confetti fell has left him looked upon as a reclusive hermit ever since.

This is the true story of a national hero whose lifelong quest to walk on the moon truly mirrors our best selves. He's an American who daily braved incredible danger over a long career and finally broke free of Earth's surly bonds, achieving what seemed impossible and proving forever that man can reach for the stars and succeed.

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC (March 17, 2004)
  • ISBN: 9780312873431

Voodoo
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From: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jul 2001

posted 02-06-2004 10:47 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Voodoo   Click Here to Email Voodoo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Is this the biography that we have been hearing about for a while? Or is another one in the works?

Robert Pearlman
Editor

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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-06-2004 10:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
"One Giant Leap" is an unauthorized biography.

"First Man: A Life of Neil Armstrong" by James Hansen is the moonwalker's authorized biography.

Leon Wagener
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From: Boca Raton, Fl, USA
Registered: Mar 2004

posted 03-29-2004 12:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Leon Wagener   Click Here to Email Leon Wagener     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
April 2004 Bookpage:
Journalist Leon Wagener faced the daunting task of chronicling a subject famously shy of the limelight when he took on One Giant Leap: Neil Armstrong's Stellar American Journey. The book discusses Armstrong's formative years, his career first as a naval and then test pilot and even includes information about his family life, yet he remains elusive, just beyond reach. The first man to walk on the moon clearly never intended to spend a lifetime reliving the 21 hours he spent there. Wagener writes: "Each anniversary would inevitably be an opportunity for the world to compare the man he presently was to the man he had been that glorious July of 1969." Armstrong generally limits his stints in NASA's so-called publicity "barrel" to appearances at major commemorative events.

After leaving NASA, Armstrong became an engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati, where he co-founded the Institute of Engineering and Medicine. The group, which included Dr. Henry J. Heimlich (of maneuver fame) and Dr.George Rieveschl (discoverer of the first antihistamine), contributed several improvements to heart transplant technology based on space engineering. Armstrong also continued his lifelong interest in aviation, breaking records and narrating a television series documenting aviation firsts for which he flew or rode in significant aircraft.

Obviously, the moon landing must feature into any account of Neil Armstrong's life. Wagener does an admirable job of covering Apollo 11, describing the carnival atmosphere surrounding the Cape and giving a brief rundown of the world of 1969. His detailed transcript-based passages about things like in-flight meals and the astronauts' musical preferences put the reader in the capsule. One has to wonder whether anyone but the most devoted techie or Mars fan will be reading about the twin rovers 35 years from now. The human presence has always made space voyages more compelling. For Armstrong and his fellow Apollo astronauts, part of their mission will always be to keep the moment alive not so much for those who remember, but for those who do not.

TrueNorth
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Posts: 161
From: Bathurst, NB, Canada
Registered: Jun 2003

posted 03-31-2004 02:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TrueNorth   Click Here to Email TrueNorth     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Leon, great that you have joined the forum. Welcome, and I look forward to reading your book.

How about some insights into the writing of your book?

Leon Wagener
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From: Boca Raton, Fl, USA
Registered: Mar 2004

posted 04-02-2004 02:23 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Leon Wagener   Click Here to Email Leon Wagener     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The genesis of the book came nearly ten years ago when I was commissioned by a U.K. magazine, Sunday, to do a story on Neil Armstrong's roots and childhood for the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11.

In his hometown, Wapakoneta, Ohio I started at the local paper and discovered a large box of clippings, pictures, memorabilia and notes they had collected over the years. It was a treasure trove of information.

I talked to friends, teachers and relatives, including his parents, who were then in a retirement home in nearby St. Mary's, where Neil was born in his grandparent's farm house.

Naturally, I also tried to contact Neil, but was rebuffed, as were all other journalists working on anniversary stories.

Nevertheless, I found him fascinating and admirable, and was shocked to learn no one had written a biography (except for a few children's books). And he had not written an autobiography, save for the one put together by Life Magazine in 1969 for him, Collins and Aldrin.

The space program has always held a great deal of interest to me. I was a First Grader in the Washington suburbs when Sputnik was launched in 1957, and remember well the furor and panic it caused. Indelibly etched in my memory is a crisp October morning standing in line waiting for the first bell. An older boy, probably a fifth grader, who was a monitor, solemnly explained to us that Sputnik was spewing flu bugs each time it soared over our skies.

While my teachers and parents assured me this wasn't so, it gave me pause. From that moment on, the space race was personalized for me. Even if the paranoid fantasies the Soviet satellite fostered were false, there clearly was a price to pay for being scientifically complacent.

The thunder of Saturn V and the triumph of Apollo righted that wrong.

After completing research for the magazine article I began reading everything I could get my hands on regarding the space program, as well as NACA's rocket plane tests, and the air carrier based F-9 Panthers Neil flew in 79 Korean War missions.

Then, about five years ago I presented the idea of a Neil Armstrong bio to Tor/Forge Press, which had published books by Buzz Aldrin, Deke Slayton and other astronauts. We signed a contract and I was off on my research, which took me back to Wapakoneta, to Purdue University, where Neil studied, Edwards Air Force Base, where he flew the X-15 and many other experimental craft, to Houston and Cape Canaveral. In the course of research I spoke with almost all of his Navy Fighter Squadron VF-51 ship mates (to whom the book is dedicated), a number of test pilots including Stanley "Butch" Butchard, many astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, who was extremely generous with his time, and several close friends and family members.

In addition, I interviewed former White House officials, who were involved in NASA business, and Dr. Henry Heimlich, with whom Neil developed medical breakthroughs using space technology.

And, most helpfully, Skylab 4 Pilot William R. Pogue went over my manuscript correcting technical errors and clarifying historical points.

My conception of the book was: oral history, more than conventional biography, letting the people who have shared Neil's adventures, heroics, triumphs, near tragedies and sorrows tell his story in their own words.

It is also a look at his times, the zeitgeist in which he lives.

FFrench
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Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 04-02-2004 02:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FFrench     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks Leon - it sounds like a truly fascinating book, and am eagerly looking forward to reading!

girlsrock
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Posts: 2
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 04-02-2004 05:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for girlsrock     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Leon Wagener's most recent post caused me to raise my eyebrows more than a little bit.

First, the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11 happened in 1994. Armstrong's mother and father both died four years earlier, in 1990.

He says he interviewed both of them. Was he working on his 25th anniversary article four years in advance of the 25th Apollo 11 anniversary? Also, the Armstrongs never resided in a St. Marys, Ohio, retirement home; they resided in the Dorothy Love Retirement Community in Sidney, Ohio.

The publisher of Wagener's book says on its website that this Armstrong book is based on "thousands of interviews." Can that be anything close to true? Does Wagener at the back of his book give the names, dates, and locations of every single interview he personally conducted?

Second, one of the key interviews Wagener allegedly did for the book was with a boyhood friend of Neil's in Wapakoneta by the name of Richard Schwer. As a former resident of Wapakoneta, I know that Neil Armstrong hardly knew Dick Schwer and vice versa. What Schwer has to say about Armstrong is purely local hearsay and most of it is apocryphal.

In fact, Schwer had left school and joined the army in the years Neil was finishing high school in Wapakoneta. As far as I can tell, Schwer is the only Wapakoneta native Wagener really ever spoke to. Neil's real friends are very careful about whom they speak to without Neil's permission.

I would hope the Wagener would deposit his interview transcripts in the Neil A. Armstrong Museum in Wapakoneta.

Over the years NASA historians have interviewed a number of "history makers." Transcripts of these interviews are available at NASA headquarters or at NASA centers like Dryden and Johnson. While the interview transcripts are wonderful historical documents, they don't address the kinds of questions a biographer of Neil Armstrong should be asking. If these are Wagener's main sources, that hardly seems like a reasonable foundation to write the biography of one of America's heroes. His readers deserve a full accounting of whom he personally interviewed. Those of us in Ohio who know Neil well think this book will fail to do Neil's story justice.

hinkler
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From: Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 04-02-2004 10:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hinkler   Click Here to Email hinkler     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have read "One Giant Leap," and enjoyed it very much. It is obvious if you read the book that it was the result of extensive research. I am of the belief it does Armstrong justice. If someone writing a biography is a problem, why not convince the man himself to write an autobiography. I have read forwards written by Armstrong and I must say he is an excellent writer.

It is also a simple fact that a biography of Neil Armstrong was something that was missing from space literature.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-02-2004 11:12 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by hinkler:
If someone writing a biography is a problem, why not convince the man himself to write an autobiography.
As may already be common knowledge, in 2003 Armstrong authorized James Hansen of Auburn University to write his official biography. Hansen has interviewed extensively the people in Armstrong's life, throughout his life, and has had access to personal and professional archives unavailable to anyone prior.

Leon, if I may inquire, how did the news of Hansen's selection effect your writing and eventual publication of your book?

Leon Wagener
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From: Boca Raton, Fl, USA
Registered: Mar 2004

posted 04-03-2004 02:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Leon Wagener   Click Here to Email Leon Wagener     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by girlsrock:
First, the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11 happened in 1994. Armstrong's mother and father both died four years earlier, in 1990.
I was in error: my first trip to Wapakoneta was for the 20th anniversary, not the 25th. I worked for Sunday magazine from 1988 to 1992. Time flies when you are getting old. The time line and sequence of events, as well as the location are correct in my book. I should have been more careful with my post.

Some of the people I spoke with, like John Blackford did ask and receive permission to speak to me.

The rest of your points would be answered for you if you read the book.

I am far from perfect and I'm sure my book is far from perfect. I'm sure there are errors. But I am also sure that if you give it a chance you will realize it is a carefully researched homage to a great man. I spent a big chunk of my life on it, and I believe someone should at least read it before savaging it. And I think you should reveal who you really are and what your agenda is.

Regarding the Hansen autobiography: My book was finished before the announcement was made. I think it's great, wonderful news. It would have been a tragedy for Neil Armstrong to have departed this mortal coil without telling his story in his words. "One Giant Leap" is people who shared his journey describing it from their point of view, the other facet of the diamond is the man's own point of view. Surely there is room on the shelf for both.

John K. Rochester
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From: Rochester, NY, USA
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posted 04-03-2004 02:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for John K. Rochester   Click Here to Email John K. Rochester     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There will be on my shelf, different points of view and slants should never be discouraged... to obtain the whole story would take up a book the size of a telephone directory. I'm looking forward to both!

girlsrock
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From: Washington, DC
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 04-12-2004 10:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for girlsrock     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Having looked at Wagener's "One Giant Leap", I found factual errors and misunderstandings about the person Neil is and the events of his life and the perpetuation of urban myths about Neil that simply are not true. Because of Neil's historical significance to the space age worldwide, many cultures and a number of religious organizations have adopted him as their hero, icon, and representative. There are a lot stories floating around about Armstrong that just aren't accurate.

If Wagener used a lot of newspaper articles for information, there needs to be some understanding and discussion that using newspapers as historical documents requires some interpretation of the culture that produces them. No matter how much we would like our news sources to reflect the truth, the reality is the stories that make the news are very often there because an editor or producer believes that what the consumers want.

Because Americans have made the Apollo astronauts into their idols and heroes, it's fair to assume that these same myths are being circulated through otherwise respectable news sources. That's where extensive research and discussion with Armstrong, his friends and family would help. And it is here where a bibliography would serve to clarify Wagener's foundation for the stories he tells.

With less than 300 pages of text, a good half of the book focuses on just Neil's NASA years, which represents just a decade of the man's nearly 74-year long life. There is so much more to him than just his work at NASA. Wagener quoted Armstrong's speech at the National Press Club about being a nerdy, pocket-protector wearing engineer. Since that's how Neil identifies himself, it seems that Wagener's book would benefit by making more of Armstrong's own personal observation.

Gilbert
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From: Carrollton, GA USA
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posted 05-10-2004 08:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I finished reading "One Giant Leap" by Leon Wagener over the weekend. If anyone has any doubts about this book being worthy of purchasing I assure you that it is a great read.

I agree with Bill Pogue's cover blurb that it is a page-turner. I especially enjoyed reading about Neil's experiences in the Korean War, something I knew very little about prior to reading the book. I rate it 4.5 stars out of 5 possible... or excellent.

Wehaveliftoff
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posted 02-23-2005 02:12 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Wehaveliftoff     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wagener's biography is a must read and noteworthy to be in all our collections.

Fra Mauro
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From: Bethpage, N.Y.
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posted 06-22-2008 12:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Fra Mauro   Click Here to Email Fra Mauro     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Any more opinions on the book?

hinkler
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Posts: 573
From: Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 06-24-2008 02:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for hinkler   Click Here to Email hinkler     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have read both "One Giant Leap" and "First Man" and enjoyed them both. They sit together in my book collection next to "First on the Moon" and "Carrying the Fire." Read both and decide whether you want to keep both, one or none.

A biography is the next best thing to an autobiography.

Tyler
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From: Auburn, Alabama, United States
Registered: Aug 2009

posted 05-16-2010 08:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tyler   Click Here to Email Tyler     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have also read both books: "One Giant Leap" and "First Man." I don't believe "One Giant Leap" is a bad book, but I do recall one glaring discrepancy between Wagener's book and Hansen's book. Wagener repeated the story about a young Armstrong seeing the Wapakoneta astronomer Jacob Zint and peering through Zint's telescope. One night, Armstrong allegedly said that he dreamed of traveling to the Moon one day.

From reading Wagener's book, one has the impression that this exchange is true. But Armstrong, as quoted by Hansen, categorically denies that this happened. Hansen did an especially strong job in terms of explaining apocryphal Armstrong stories. The reader has to exercise more caution with this book.

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