posted 04-07-2021 10:17 AM               

Apollo 15 command module pilot Al Worden was one of the highest-profile personalities among the Apollo astronauts, renowned for his outspokenness and potent views but also recognized as a warm and well-liked person who devoted much of his life after retiring from NASA to sharing his spaceflight experiences.

Worden had nearly finished writing this book before his passing in 2020 at the age of eighty-eight. Coauthored with spaceflight historian Francis French, The Light of Earth is Worden's wide-ranging look at the greatest-ever scientific undertaking, in which he was privileged to be a leading participant.

Here Worden gives readers his refreshingly candid opinions on the space program, flying to the moon, and the people involved in the Apollo and later shuttle programs, as well as sharing hard-hitting reflections on the space shuttle program, the agonies and extraordinary sights and delights of being a NASA Apollo astronaut, and the space program's triumphs and failures.

Worden delves into areas of personal grief that reveal the noble and truly human side of the space program's earliest years. He does not hold back when discussing the shocking deaths of his fellow astronauts in the three major tragedies that struck the space agency, nor does he shy away from sharing his personal feelings about fellow Apollo astronauts including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Worden was known as a charismatic speaker and one of the most thoughtful Apollo astronauts. His candid entertaining and unique perspective in The Light of Earth will captivate and surprise.

• Hardcover, 184 pages
  
• University of Nebraska Press (November 2021)
  
• ISBN-10: 1496228650
  
• ISBN-13: 978-1496228659

posted 04-07-2021 03:28 PM               

All I know is if I'd made it to be an astronaut, I probably would have written two books; one that would satisfy space fans and not tick off too many people (knowing me, along the lines of the types of person opinions in Mullane's, "Riding Rockets") and then another to be released after I passed on, saying what I really felt about folks and the things that happened.

I do wonder if this book might be the latter, as Worden would have a lot to say for how he really felt about certain people and events in the program he might have wanted to keep mum while he was still with us.

posted 10-30-2021 10:37 AM               

One question — the authors say Jim McDivitt left as Apollo program manager because Gene Cernan got the command of Apollo 17. They say McDivitt didn't object to Cernan, but quit because he felt the the decision was forced on him.

posted 11-19-2021 02:59 PM            

His assesments of his peers is riveting but not a demolition job, fair and trying to see it from their points of view as well. Obviously he was not as keen on the management side and he was very much his own man, but still a great team player. Always interesting in his opinions, even controversial sometimes, but as usual well worth listening to.

posted 11-20-2021 05:43 AM               

His opinions of the guys who flew to the moon was interesting. Just enough “pith” to make for an interesting read. Did Al really spill the beans on all the guys? I’m not so sure. Details from various biographies and histories over the years would suggest otherwise.

The book had a strange feel to it. Used to biographies that charter an astronauts life chronologically, this had a feel of an “out take show”. Comprising various bits and pieces, mostly recordings, expertly cobbled together from the cutting room floor.

I had the good fortune to meet Al several times and courtesy of Space Lectures spent a couple of days in his company. As I read the book I could almost hear Al speaking: as if an audio book.

The final, more reflective chapters were particularly interesting and it is such a shame there will never be an opportunity to discuss them with him.

The “odd” feeling aside, I thought it an excellent read none the less and well worth the wait. Thank you Al and Francis both.

posted 11-22-2021 10:32 AM            

"Falling To Earth" was the structured memoir it sounds like you anticipated, so this book was indeed more in the nature of chapter-length explorations of other themes. But not cutting-room stuff... deliberate explorations, solely for this project, of things that Al wanted to explore and highlight.

posted 11-30-2021 11:04 AM               

I was honoured and privileged to know Al in the latter years of his life and like a good number of people always enjoyed listening to him talk. The tales of his exploits before, during and after his flight on Apollo 15 could easily hold your attention for hours on end.

In this book, Al's voice comes through loud and clear and his co-author Francis French has done an amazing job of bringing Al's words to life in such a way as to make the reader feel like Al is speaking aloud.

It was joy to read the insights and analysis across a range of topics of a respected and much missed part of the space community. It is wonderful to hear Al's voice again discussing the highs and lows of spaceflight and the journey of his life.

posted 11-30-2021 05:12 PM               

When I learned that Astronaut Al Worden had passed away it was heartbreaking news. He has become a friend and generously supported my work as an artist.

When I learned that this book was being published, it was like receiving a last gift from him. Reading this I could hear his voice. Al was never shy discussing topics and sharing his opinion. "The Light of Earth" is rich in offering those opinions and stories.

I can't recommend this book enough. If you want an honest assessment of the space program, get this book. You won't be disappointed. — Tim Gagnon

posted 12-01-2021 04:35 PM               

There are many books written by astronauts or about astronauts, but very few are as original as this book. Al Worden was an original. If you ever wanted to meet Al, this book will let you do just that.

Having been lucky enough to know Al, I can definitely say that reading this book is just like talking to him in person was. It is blunt and bold, caring and touching, and gives the feeling of sitting in his living room with him and having a great conversation. He will "talk" about what it was like to be an astronaut, how it was to work with his fellow astronauts, and what someone does after they are technically no longer an astronaut. There are glimpses into his life that are very personal and bittersweet. He talks about the past and the future and touches on a lot of issues from the past and present.

This book is beautifully written by Al Worden and his co-author Francis French (who has some wonderful books on his own!).

I have read this book multiple times now and will read it again from time to time, when I am missing Al and wanting to just "talk" with him one more time.

posted 12-09-2021 09:03 PM               

As we saw in Buzz Aldrin's 1973 memoir Return to Earth and Worden's Falling to Earth, the pressures were a lot even for the astronauts who flew. Al Worden would become the victim of a newspaper article himself in 1972, months after returning from the super-successful Apollo 15 lunar mission. The Houston Chronicle would publish a damning front-page article dissecting the stamp scandal that tainted the crew's reputations, and the newspaper even put a black border around the crew's photos. Worden never forgot the calumny, and discusses the aftermath of that terrible time in The Light of Earth.

While Worden was "allowed" to stay at NASA – sent to a sort of exile at NASA Ames, far away from Houston, Astronaut Central — he was well aware he, in his words, "was really just riding out the storm there." In 1975, he left NASA and the U.S. Air Force "knowing I did not want to go work for a big company. As a matter of fact, feeling kind of tainted from the end of my NASA career, I wasn't sure any big company would want me on board anyway. So I never really tried." Worden did perhaps one of the most un-astronaut things someone could do in 1975: he took the show on the road. "...I loaded all my belongings into a motor home and hitched my sports car to the back of it. I headed east and went back to school. Living in a motor home in winter is cold, but I made it work. Life wasn't going to keep me down for long." Worden traded his flight suits for bell bottoms and longer hair, and thus began his bohemian years in California. We also find out that while Worden was not a big fan of the space shuttle's design, if he'd been given the chance, he still would have been glad to fly it during the 1980s.

Life didn't keep Worden down for long. Worden would start a string of successful businesses, and his later years found him having one of the most spectacular public returns to the spotlight perhaps of any Apollo-era astronaut, after the publication of the validating Falling to Earth.

The Light of Earth shows an Al Worden who had made peace with his tumultuous past, and was optimistically looking forward to the future, until his life was cut short in March 2020 at age 88 (note: despite his age, he wasn't done yet... not even close).

posted 12-21-2021 07:53 AM               

I started reading and couldn't put it down. It feels like a conversation with Al, a hero I was very proud to call a friend. I hear this book in his voice.

The Light of Earth is a deeply moving look into the life of a lifelong achiever. Al had the heart of a poet and true explorer, an expressive and insightful observer of humanity; past, present, & future. Listening to his stories as a participant in history, and the life he led afterwards, is a story of humble inspiration, love, and a life well-lived.

The Light of Earth is a phenomenal companion to the earlier Falling To Earth, now focusing on the human element. Al's life work of inspiring others from his own experiences continues here, through the honest quill of longtime friend, Francis French. Thank you, Francis for getting this out.

posted 12-23-2021 01:06 PM               

The section where Col Worden discusses his feelings on his colleagues in the program was most riveting, in particular those who today's space program fan would never have the chance to meet. I also was quite enthralled learning more about his lovely wife Jill and her untimely passing. Quite a love story there.

posted 12-30-2021 09:58 PM               

When Francis first approached me about the possibility of "The Light of Earth" being published by UNP and sent me the manuscript that he and Al had worked on together, I had no hesitation at all in working to have it published, and the result is a truly magnificent tribute to a man and astronaut who endeared himself to fans and others everywhere he went.