Light this candle : the life and times of Alan Shepard, America's first spaceman

From Publishers Weekly The 15-minute Freedom 7 flight in 1961 made astronaut Alan Shepard America's first man in space and its first hero of the space age. Later he made history by playing golf on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission. But journalist Thompson reveals another side of this all-American navy pilot with the right stuff. Although married for more than 50 years, Shepard had an eye for the prettiest girl in a room. Even longtime colleagues found him a hard man to get to know. The "Icy Commander" could be charming and helpful one minute, steely-eyed and "reaming them out" the next. Thompson traces Shepard's life from a New Hampshire childhood, when he was captivated with flying, to a lackluster career at Annapolis, where he frequently bent the rules, then his goal of becoming a jet pilot. Thompson shines a light on the very private Shepard's career between his Mercury and Apollo days, when he was earthbound by Menière's disease, which affected his equilibrium. In retirement, Shepard amazed everyone (except probably his devoted wife, Louise) by energetically embracing philanthropic causes before succumbing to leukemia at age 74. Thompson doesn't reveal much that die-hard space junkies don't already know about Shepard's often contentious relationship with his Mercury 7 colleagues, especially John Glenn, but his is a snappily written, factual counterbalance to Tom Wolfe's sometimes poetic renderings of the heroes of the early space program. Space buffs and baby boomers who remember Shepard's gravity-escaping flight should snap it up. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Impatient, driven, competitive, and sharp-tongued_--_astronaut Alan Shepard (1923-98) was all of those for much of his life, and despite his long marriage to the remarkable Louise Brewster, a party animal, too. One of the two best pilots among the original Mercury Seven, Shepard was selected over the other, John Glenn, to be the first American in space, and his career culminated in taking Apollo 14 to the moon. The driven quality about him sometimes made him unappealing and even downright appalling, but it helped him fight off Meniere's disease (an inner-ear disorder) to get back into space while simultaneously building a business empire. Although newsman Thompson has thoroughly researched Shepard, he makes a few mistakes, such as putting the F4U Corsair at the Battle of Midway, and it is odd that he doesn't mention Walter Schirra's nine-hour, orbital Sigma 7 flight among other early space-program milestones. But noticeable glitches didn't prevent completion of the Mercury missions, and they don't much impede this first full-dress biography of a complex space pioneer. Roland Green Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved 20th Century; History; United States; Biography & Autobiography; Astronauts; Biography; Science & Technology; Astronautics A Portrait Of Mercury Seven Team Member Alan Shepard, America's First Man Into Space, Describes His Achievements As A Test Pilot, Competitive Nature, And Career-challenging Struggles With Illness. Part I. Before Space -- Chapter 1: Alan Was Really Kind Of A Loner -- Chapter 2: I Think I Love You -- Chapter 3: The Kamikazes Raised Hell Last Night -- Chapter 4: Unsafe For Solo In Zoom Town -- Chapter 5: A Perfectly Charming Son Of A Bitch -- Chapter 6: Shepard Should Be Court Martialed -- Chapter 7: Do You Wish To Declare An Emergency? -- Chapter 8: That Little Rascal. -- Part Ii. Into Space -- Chapter 9: We Made Them Heroes, The First Day They Were Picked -- Chapter 10: Eyeballs In, Eyeballs Out -- Chapter 11: A Harlot Of A Town -- Chapter 12: I Think I Got Myself In Trouble. -- Chapter 13: We Had 'em By The Short Hairs, And We Gave It Away. -- Chapter 14: Light This Candle! -- Chapter 15: We Choose To Go To The Moon. -- Chapter 16: I'm Sick ... Should I Just Hang It Up? -- Chapter 17: How To Succeed In Business Without Really Flying -- Much -- Chapter 18: Captain Shepard? ... I'm Charles Lindbergh. -- Chapter 19: What's Wrong With This Ship? -- Part Iii. After Space -- Chapter 20: When You've Been To The Moon, Where Else Are You Going To Go? -- Chapter 21: I Saw A Different Alan Shepard, Completely Different -- Chapter 22: This Is The Toughest Man I've Ever Met. Neal Thompson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [429]-434) And Index. Alan Shepard was the brashest, cockiest, and most flamboyant of America's original Mercury Seven, but he was also regarded as the best. Intense, colorful, and dramatic --the man who hit a golf ball on the moon -- he was among the most private of America's public figures and, until his death in 1998, he guarded the story of his life zealously. Light This Candle , based on Neal Thompson's exclusive access to private papers and interviews with Shepard's family and closest friends -- including John Glenn, Wally Schirra, and Gordon Cooper -- offers a riveting, action-packed account of Shepard's life. Among the first men to fly off aircraft carriers, he was one of the most fearless test pilots. He endured long separations from his devoted wife and three daughters to fly dangerous missions, working his way up the ranks despite clashes with authority over his brazen flying maneuvers and penchant for risky pranks. Hugely competitive, he beat out John Glenn for the first Mercury spaceflight and then overcame a rare illness to return to space again on Apollo 14. He took every challenge head-on and seemed to win every time. Long overdue, Light This Candle is a candid and inspiring account of a bold American life.