Author
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Topic: Dear Neil Armstrong (James R. Hansen)
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 49690 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-14-2016 05:10 AM
Coming in 2019 from WW Norton & Company: Historian and NYT bestselling author of "First Man," the authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, James Hansen's "Dear Neil Armstrong" featuring 200 of the tens of thousands of letters sent to Armstrong after the lunar landing — from children across America, admirers around the world, and such notable figures as Isaac Asimov, Brigitte Bardot, Richard Nixon, Elvis Presley, and John Wayne — capturing the glory of the Moon shot and the dignity of Armstrong himself, to be published to mark the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing in 2019. |
David C Member Posts: 1378 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
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posted 03-14-2016 08:28 AM
Unusual. Going to have to see it before commenting further. |
garymilgrom Member Posts: 2097 From: Atlanta, GA Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 03-14-2016 08:37 AM
This seems interesting - from children to the President, a slice of America's response to the first crewed moon landing. And Hansen is a terrific author or editor for the project. I can't wait. |
rjurek349 Member Posts: 1223 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
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posted 03-14-2016 04:47 PM
This is exciting. One of my favorite "unusual" space books is "Letters to John Glenn: P.S. I Listened To Your Heartbeat," which is a collection of letters Glenn received from around the world after his historic orbital flight. It was put out by World Book in 1964, as part of the Life/World Book contract with the astronauts on their personal stories. It's a fun read — and reminds me, in an odd way, of a Studs Terkel approach... a lens into the minds and thoughts of the people during such an historic event. Really looking forward to seeing this in print. |
Blackarrow Member Posts: 3539 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-14-2016 05:29 PM
Very interesting. As a 15-year-old, I wrote to Neil Armstrong (in 1970). He replied within a few weeks (the letter is neatly signed in blue ballpoint). Would the publishers try to contact me if they want to include my letter? (For the record, Mr. Hansen, you have my permission!) |
cspg Member Posts: 6330 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
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posted 03-03-2019 09:24 AM
Dear Neil Armstrong: Letters to the First Man on the Moon Edited by James R. Hansen In the years between the historic first moon landing by Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969, and his death at age 82 on August 25, 2002, Neil Armstrong received hundreds of thousands of cards and letters from all over the world, congratulating him, praising him, requesting pictures and autographs, and asking him what must have seemed to him to be limitless ― and occasionally intrusive ― questions. Of course, all the famous astronauts received fan mail, but the sheer volume Armstrong had to deal with for more than four decades after his moon landing was staggering.Today, the preponderance of those letters ― some 75,000 of them ― are preserved in the archives at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Dear Neil Armstrong: Letters to the First Man on the Moon publishes a careful sampling of these letters ― roughly 400 ― reflecting the various kinds of correspondence that Armstrong received along with representative samples of his replies. Selected and edited by James R. Hansen, Armstrong's authorized biographer and author of the New York Times best seller First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, this collection sheds light on Armstrong's enduring impact and offers an intimate glimpse into the cultural meanings of human spaceflight. Readers will explore what the thousands of letters to Neil Armstrong meant not only to those who wrote them, but as a snapshot of one of humankind's greatest achievements in the twentieth century. They will see how societies and cultures projected their own meanings onto one of the world's great heroes and iconic figures. |
Blackarrow Member Posts: 3539 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-03-2019 12:01 PM
As a matter of interest, do we know if Mr. Hansen contacted the letter writers to seek permission to publish? Is something like this covered by U.S. law? Certainly, no one has contacted me about my 1970 and 1984 letters! |
SpaceCadet1983 Member Posts: 419 From: Pacific NW, United States Registered: May 2012
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posted 03-03-2019 03:17 PM
Mr. Hansen contacted me about my letter. He was interested in knowing what, if anything, I received in reply to my letter. I sent him a scan of a photograph Neil Armstrong personally signed to me. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 49690 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-04-2019 11:13 AM
Cover art: |
davidcwagner Member Posts: 973 From: Albuquerque, New Mexico Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 05-04-2019 04:14 PM
Would really like a copy because I have a letter to Armstrong from two Italian mountain climbers. They included a handmade picture book of a new ascent route that they named "The Astronaut Trail" in honor of the Apollo program. |
FFrench Member Posts: 3283 From: San Diego Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 09-20-2019 02:19 PM
My review of this book... |
SpaceCadet1983 Member Posts: 419 From: Pacific NW, United States Registered: May 2012
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posted 09-20-2019 06:40 PM
Looking forward to reading it! |
chet Member Posts: 1543 From: Beverly Hills, Calif. Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 09-20-2019 11:26 PM
Mr. French, great review! So concise and to the heart of the matter, feels like reading the book will be redundant (though I probably will anyway). Thanks. |
Jonnyed Member Posts: 584 From: Dumfries, VA, USA Registered: Aug 2014
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posted 10-16-2019 04:56 PM
Got my book (from Amazon) delivered today. Can't wait to dive in.I was only 6 years old during the first moon landing and still learning to read, print and write ("See Neil step. Watch Buzz walk." --my take on "Dick and Jane.) Anyway, if I had been a bit older I'm sure I would have written Neil a letter! I do remember my dad bringing some of the Apollo-themed postage stamps home for me to save and collect. This looks like such a cool book. |
Jonnyed Member Posts: 584 From: Dumfries, VA, USA Registered: Aug 2014
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posted 12-08-2019 11:16 AM
This book proved to be a fun, informative sampling of the letters, invitations, requests and fan mail that Neil received even decades after his famous moonwalk. Hansen's explanatory sections are very good.It's shocking some of the outrageous requests that people asked of Armstrong. Some people are really clueless. There's a funny letter [not intended to be funny] from then Sen. Dan Quayle, asking for Neil's endorsement for a state campaign to improve the meaning of "Hoosier" by appealing to Neil's status as a native Indianian [oops!]. Neil sends a short note back declining, for obvious reasons. What a gaff! One person wrote asking what shoe size Neil wore. His secretary dutifully wrote back that Neil was a size 9. Anyway, there's lots of humorous twists in some of these cards and letters. Additionally, it was really fun to take note of letters and requests from folks I know are part of our collectSPACE community that were written when they were kids. Very funny to see one of cS colleagues earn a "this kid asks for too many autographs," note from Neil to his secretary. All in good spirits of course. For those who may be interested, James H. gives the impression that he is still sorting through all the correspondence and is planning a second book. He does a great job with this one, as an opener. A worthwhile read, in a fun breezy way. |
FFrench Member Posts: 3283 From: San Diego Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 12-17-2022 05:50 PM
Higher Orbits shared my review of this book. |