posted 09-22-2011 02:29 PM            

If I may Id like to share my favorite passage from Colonel Worden's book:

I felt like I could see the whole world. The sun was white, burning with a cold, unforgiving glare that highlighted every tiny scratch on my canopy. The sky was not yet black, but it was dark, and bright stars were beginning to appear. Below me, the earth was brilliantly lit. I could gaze from the orange desert of Edwards down across Los Angeles, past San Diego, and deep into Mexico, until the land and ocean finally disappeared in the blue, glowing haze of the atmosphere. Gazing into the deep, darkening horizon, I could see the slight curve of our planet’s edge. It was eerie – and beautiful.

posted 09-28-2011 07:25 AM               

I just finished reading your book with Al Worden, Falling to Earth. How was working with Al and what were your contributions to the writing process?

Al is a natural storyteller; he is one of those guys who knows how to tell a story and tell it well. It was a real pleasure to work with Al because the stories basically come pouring out of him, and my job was to put the jigsaw together, taking the various stories and forming them into a cohesive narrative. It was relatively easy because Al is such a great storyteller, and he knew really what he wanted to say.

posted 11-13-2011 11:31 AM               

As command module pilot for the Apollo 15 mission to the moon in 1971, Al Worden flew on what is widely regarded as the greatest exploration mission that humans have ever attempted. He spent six days orbiting the moon, including three days completely alone, the most isolated human in existence. During the return from the moon to earth he also conducted the first spacewalk in deep space, becoming the first human ever to see both the entire earth and moon simply by turning his head. The Apollo 15 flight capped an already-impressive career as an astronaut, including important work on the pioneering Apollo 9 and Apollo 12 missions, as well as the perilous flight of Apollo 13.

Nine months after his return from the moon, Worden received a phone call telling him he was fired and ordering him out of his office by the end of the week. He refused to leave.

What happened in those nine months, from being honored with parades and meetings with world leaders to being unceremoniously fired, has been a source of much speculation for four decades. Worden has never before told the full story around the dramatic events that shook NASA and ended his spaceflight career. Readers will learn them here for the first time, along with the exhilarating account of what it is like to journey to the moon and back. It's an unprecedentedly candid account of what it was like to be an Apollo astronaut, with all its glory but also its pitfalls.

posted 12-26-2011 01:07 PM               

I am always fascinated by the crew selection process that NASA had beginning with the Mercury flights.

Worden seems to shed some light on the process when talking about those astronauts chosen as Apollo support crew members.

It seems that those chosen for the early Apollo missions in that role, and were recognized for a "job well done", were rewarded by being assigned to a back-up and eventually flight crew position.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Stu Roosa was never assigned to a support or back-up crew position before his assignment to the prime crew of Apollo 13/14.

posted 12-26-2011 02:01 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Tom:
Correct me if I am wrong, but Stu Roosa was never assigned to a support or back-up crew position before his assignment to the prime crew of Apollo 13/14.

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posted 12-26-2011 02:29 PM               

Roosa was one of 19 people selected as part of the astronaut class of 1966 and served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 9 mission.

posted 12-28-2011 04:37 PM               

"Falling to Earth," Al Worden's incredibly unique and inspiring story written candidly with Francis French, is truly worth reading. Once I started Colonel Worden's compelling autobiography I could not put the book down.

I was particularly moved by his self-motivated character, forged in childhood, an appreciation of rising early to work all day on his family's farm, the strong but disappearing ethic that built our country and set Al on his unpredictable destiny into military training, flight school, NASA and flying to the moon in Apollo 15's historic exploratory mission for all humanity. His easy going personality filters through all his lifelong commitments and sacrifice, even through his unwarranted yet temporary change of fortune occurring a year after his highly celebrated trip to the moon.

What's more, I got the thrill to meet Colonel Worden personally, having portrayed him in the Emmy Award winning mini-series, "From the Earth to the Moon!" His only false words are his handwritten ones scribbled in my personal copy of "Falling to Earth" which say that "you play me better than me!" I doubt it.

Al Worden's incredible achievements and accomplishments which continue into present day are told in a highly relatable and humorous salt-of-the-earth manner. As expected, "Falling to Earth" is another job well done!!

posted 01-05-2012 08:22 AM               

I also want to encourage everyone to pick up a copy of "Falling to Earth" Al Worden has brought the most fresh honest perspective of the story of Apollo 15 that Ken I have read to this date. Al is another one of my heroes!!!!

posted 01-15-2012 08:49 PM               

In addition to being very complementary of the book's writing style, I found the following sentence to be one of high praise indeed:

Books like this not only introduce a new generation to one of humanity's greatest adventures, but make a critical contribution to the collective record of that exceptional era by those who made it happen.

posted 04-10-2012 05:45 PM               

Everyone makes mistakes, though some are more public than others. In Colonel Al Worden's new memoir "Falling to Earth," he finally opens up about his mistake regarding the Apollo 15 postal cover scandal that cost him his job at NASA.