The All-American Boys
by Walter Cunningham
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Book Summary Information
Author: Walter CunninghamEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09-28
ISBN: 0743486676
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: I Books
Book Reviews of The All-American Boys
Book Review: "Strange Mix of RAND Co. Scientist and Marine Fighter Pilot"
Summary: 4 Stars
I got the title of this review from Apollo 11 astronaut Mike Collins who described fellow astronaut Walt Cunningham this way. Only a few people have flown in space, and so we would expect astronaut auto-biographies to talk about this, but unfortunately, only Mike Collins book "Carrying the Fire" does it. After reading a few other autobiographies I finally came to the conclusion that it is not really worth the time and money to get their books, with them spending most of the pages discussing petty jealousies, practical jokes, celebrity golf tournaments, and their success or failure in the world of business.. Thus, I was somewhat reluctant to purchase Cunningham's, but the reviews convinced me to give it a try. Fortunately, it was worth it. Cunningham does share the flaw of the others in that he also doesn't describe his Apollo 7 flight in any detail, but the uniquness of his book is that he does give an interesting perspective on the American space program, and his fellow astronauts, not seen in the other autobiographies.
Part of the reason is, as Collins pointed out, that Cunningham received a rigorous scientific education and was involved in scientific research before going to work for NASA. This gave him a greater ability to objectively judge the qualities of his fellow astronauts.
The original Mercury astronauts were good pilots, but one of the most important qualitites that they were chosen for was ability to stand immense stress, because at that time, it was not known how spaceflight
would affect the astronauts, physically or mentally. After Project Mercury proved the stresses were not as bad a feared, new generations of astronauts were chosen who had better education, better ability to understand the increasingly complex Gemini and Apollo spacecraft and a greater appreciation of the importance of the exploration of space in a scientific sense, something the Mercury astronauts did not have so much.
Cunningham also shows that the grind of training took a toll on the Mercury astronauts, and he says frankly that the commander of his Apollo 7 mission, Wally Schirra, who flew outstanding missions in both Mercury and Gemini (piloting the first rendezvous mission with another vehicle) didn't really have his heart in his Apollo mission and it negatively influenced his performance. Schirra repeatedly lost his temper during the mission which gave his whole crew a bad reputation leading to both Donn Eisele and Cunningham being banned from further flights (everyone admits Cunningham got an unfair rap in this). Cunningham also frankly points out that although the crew indeed proved that Apollo spacecraft was flight worthy, they didn't really accomplish nearly as much as they could have during their relatively long-duration flight in a scientific sense.
Other interesting things I learned from this book was that, starting with the two-man Gemini flights, the Mission Commander was the astronaut who controlled the abort initiation sequence, so he had to be significantly better, and management required more confidence in him than in the other astronauts who flew along, and in borderline situations, he had to have the best "feel" for how the flight was going and the spacecraft was performing.
One surprising thing Cunningham reveals was the most astronauts felt that
in the Gemini 8 mission (first docking of a manned spacecraft), astronauts Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott made a serious mistake leading to their spacecraft to spin out of control. Fortunately, they got it back under control and made an emergency reentry. Most histories of the space program say it was a mechanical glitch and that Armstrong's cool response gave Deke Slayton the confidence in him to assign him to be the commander of the first landing on the Moon.
Cunningham feels that ultimately, although all the astronauts were talented and qualified, the flight crews were chose based on Slayton's
feelings of friendship
for the fellow (although it should be pointed out that the great success of the space program shows that Slayton did generally pick the best to fly) and this was more important than ability, physical fitness or other objective considerations. Famous examples was Slayton giving Alan Shepard the Apollo 14 mission without him having served as a back-up crewmember on a previous mission. Although Shepard did an excellent job landing the Lunar Module very close to the desired target, his subsequent performance during the lunar EVA left a lot to be desired and much possible scientific gain was lost. Another example was Gene Cernan crashing his helicopter while he was ogling sunbathing girls. Many people
thought this would wash him out of his Apollo 17 command position, but Slayton covered up for him (it should be pointed out that Cernan did an outstanding job both piloting and carrying out his scientific duties on that flight).
Finally, although he wrote the book before the Space Shuttle first flew,
he points out that many of the astronauts felt too many compromises were made in designing it and that it wasn't safe. Cunningham points out that fighter pilots and astronauts find taking life-endangering risks to be exhilirating IF THE RISK IS NOT TOO GREAT. However, they oppose taking foolhardy risks, and not a few astronauts felt the Shuttle fit into that
category. Subsequent history has unfortunately shows that was the case, and the new Orion spacecraft is going back to an Apollo-like design and getting away from the "space-plane" concept.
All-in-all, I found the book a good read and a pleasant reminder of the
glory days of the manned space program that led to man walking on the moon.
Summary of The All-American Boys
"The All-American Boys" is a no-holds-barred candid memoir by a former Marine jet jockey and physicist who became NASA's second civilian astronaut. Walter Cunningham presents the astronauts in all their strengths and their weaknesses in this dramatically revised and totally updated edition of a book that was considered an instant classic in its first edition over two decades ago. From its insider's view of the pervasive "astropolitics" that guided the functioning of the astronaut corps to its thoughtful discussion of the Columbia tragedy, "The All-American Boys" resonates with Cunningham's passion for humanity's destiny in space which endures today. This is not just a "tell-all" book. It is also a story of the triumph of American heroes. Cunningham brings us into the NASA training program and reveals what it takes physically and mentally to be an astronaut. He poignantly relates the story of the devastating Apollo 1 fire that took the lives of astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee and his own later successful flight on Apollo 7. This new edition includes an update of the manned space program and his "tell it like it is" observation of NASA's successes and failures. It also includes commentary on the Shuttle disasters Of Challenger and Columbia and his views on what NASA should be doing to get back on track and to regain public support.Modern Books
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