First Man
The Life of Neil A. Armstrong
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Narrated by:
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Boyd Gaines
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By:
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James R. Hansen
About this listen
Upon his return to Earth, Armstrong was honored and celebrated for his monumental achievement. He was also, as James R. Hansen reveals in this fascinating and important authorized biography, misunderstood. Armstrong's accomplishments as an engineer, a test pilot, and an astronaut have long been a matter of record, but Hansen's unprecedented access to private documents and unpublished sources and his interviews with more than 125 subjects (including more than 50 hours with Armstrong himself) yield this first in-depth analysis of an elusive American celebrity still renowned the world over.
In a penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and as an individual. In First Man, the personal, technological, epic, and iconic blend to form the portrait of a great but reluctant hero who will forever be known as history's most famous space traveler.
©2005 James R. Hansen (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Overall
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Much has been written about Neil Armstrong, America's modern hero and history's most famous space traveler. Yet, shy of fame and never one to steal the spotlight, Armstrong was always reluctant to discuss his personal side of events. Here for the first time is the definitive story of Neil's life of flight he shared for five decades with a trusted friend - Jay Barbree.
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A Profound Personal Impact
- By Michael on 08-21-14
By: Jay Barbree
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Come Up and Get Me
- An Autobiography of Colonel Joe Kittinger
- By: Joe Kittinger, Craig Ryan
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A few years after his release from a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp, in 1973, Colonel Joseph Kittinger retired from the Air Force. Restless and unchallenged, he turned to ballooning, a lifelong passion as well as a constant diversion for his imagination during his imprisonment. His primary goal was a solitary circumnavigation of the globe, and in its pursuit he set several ballooning distance records, including the first solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1984. But the aeronautical feats that first made him an American hero had occurred a quarter of a century earlier....
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A rewarding read
- By Andrew Braddick on 03-25-13
By: Joe Kittinger, and others
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The Right Stuff
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Dennis Quaid
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Millions of words have poured forth about man's trip to the moon, but until now few people have had a sense of the most engrossing side of the adventure: namely, what went on in the minds of the astronauts themselves - in space, on the moon, and even during certain odysseys on earth. It is this, the inner life of the astronauts, that Tom Wolfe describes with his almost uncanny empathetic powers that made The Right Stuff a classic.
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Righteous Book, Righteous Narrator, Righteous MEN!
- By Gillian on 02-08-18
By: Tom Wolfe
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Sully
- My Search for What Really Matters
- By: Chesley B. Sullenberger, Jeffrey Zaslow
- Narrated by: Michael McConnohie, Chesley B. Sullenberger
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed a remarkable emergency landing when Captain "Sully" Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways flight 1549 onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide. His story is now a major motion picture from director/producer Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks, Laura Linney, and Aaron Eckhart.
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Really Dull.
- By Nick on 09-14-16
By: Chesley B. Sullenberger, and others
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LeMay
- By: Warren Kozak
- Narrated by: Grainger Hines
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The firebombing of Tokyo. Strategic Air Command. John F. Kennedy. Dr. Strangelove. George Wallace. All of these have one man in common—General Curtis LeMay, who remains as enigmatic and controversial as he was in life. Until now. Warren Kozak traces the trajectory of America’s most infamous general, from his troubled background and heroic service in Europe to his firebombing of Tokyo, guardianship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in the Cold War, frustrated career in government, and short-lived political run.
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Definition.....Leader.....General Curtis Le May
- By Nj-Mike on 01-04-15
By: Warren Kozak
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The Last Man On the Moon
- By: Eugene Cernan
- Narrated by: Eugene Cernan
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
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This is the story of a unique American hero who came of age as an astronaut during the few dramatic years when man reached the moon. Cernan's career spanned the entire Apollo program, from the tragic fire that killed three of his comrades on Apollo 1, through the moment when he left man's last footprint on the moon as commander of Apollo 17.
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Yet Another Perspective
- By Shellbin on 12-28-12
By: Eugene Cernan
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SR-71, the Blackbird, Q&A
- By: Terry Pappas
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Higher, farther, faster - what every real aviator aspires to. The SR-71 was the epitome of this dream for three decades. The only way to beat the SR-71 was to rocket into space, and every astronaut in the office with me in the 1960s would have loved to have flown the Blackbird. In many ways it placed greater demand on piloting proficiency than any spacecraft.
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Great in sight on life and times of Blackbird crew
- By J Bo on 11-11-15
By: Terry Pappas
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In the Shadow of the Moon
- A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969
- By: Francis French, Colin Burgess
- Narrated by: Gary L. Willprecht
- Length: 18 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In the Shadow of the Moon tells the story of the most exciting and challenging years in spaceflight, with two superpowers engaged in a titanic struggle to land one of their own people on the moon. Drawing on interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts, their families, technicians, and scientists, as well as rarely seen Soviet and American government documents, the authors craft a remarkable story of the golden age of spaceflight as both an intimate human experience and a rollicking global adventure.
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Interesting book for space afficionados
- By Leslie F. on 04-21-16
By: Francis French, and others
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Sally Ride
- America's First Woman in Space
- By: Lynn Sherr
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A member of the first astronaut class to include women, NASA chose her for the seventh shuttle mission, inspiring several generations of women. After a second flight, Ride served on the panels investigating the Challenger explosion and the Columbia disintegration that killed all aboard. In both instances, she faulted NASA's rush to meet mission deadlines and its organizational failures. She also cofounded a company promoting science and education for children, especially girls.
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Captivating
- By Jean on 06-12-14
By: Lynn Sherr
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Inside Marine One
- Four U.S. Presidents, One Proud Marine, and the World's Most Amazing Helicopter
- By: Lee Kelley, Ray L'Heureux
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Inside Marine One is Colonel L'Heureux's inspiring story of a young man who dreamed of flying, trained, studied, and worked hard to become the pilot who ended up serving four US Presidents - George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. It's also a personal guided tour inside the world's most famous helicopter by a man who knows that flying machine better than any other. Inside Marine One is a great American success story of a young boy who dreamed big, worked hard, and finally flew the President of the United States as his number one passenger.
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A great book
- By John A. on 01-05-23
By: Lee Kelley, and others
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Kelly
- More Than My Share of It All
- By: Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, Maggie Smith, Brig. Gen. Leo P. Geary USAF - ret. - foreword
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson led the design of such crucial aircraft as the P-38 and Constellation, but he will be more remembered for the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. His extraordinary leadership of the Lockheed "Skunk Works" cemented his reputation as a legendary figure in American aerospace management.
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Memoir of a Legend
- By Jean on 08-26-19
By: Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, and others
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Topgun Days
- Dogfighting, Cheating Death, and Hollywood Glory as One of America's Best Fighter Jocks
- By: Dave "Bio" Baranek
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Dave Baranek (callsign "Bio") was one of 451 young men to receive his Wings of Gold in 1980 as a naval flight officer. Four years later, seasoned by intense training and deployments in the tense confrontations of the Cold War, he became the only one of that initial group to rise to become an instructor at the navy's elite Fighter Weapons School. As a Topgun instructor, Bio was responsible for teaching the navy's and Marine Corps' best fighter pilots how to be even better. He schooled them in the classroom and then went head-to-head with them in the skies.
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Top Gun or Topgun
- By Randy on 02-19-13
What listeners say about First Man
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jim
- 11-07-05
First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong
A must read. Learn about the most famous person alive, Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the Moon. A very enjoyable book. If you are a space fan, this book will top your reading list for many years to come.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Stephen
- 11-03-09
Neil Armstrong Accomplishments
If you are fan of the early NASA space program you are likely to enjoy this book. This was an excellent book about Neil Armstrong's background and accomplishments, starting from his childhood. Perhaps due to his quiet nature, there is not much about the Neil Armstrong the person. The book focuses more on the things he did. From his early love of flying, the Gemini space program and of course, the Apollo space program. There are many interesting facts and escriptions of the space flights that were new to me. Especially about the training for Apollo 13 and the details of their flight and his relationships with his Apollo 13 crew mates. It was sad to see that NASA did a poor job of rewarding the astronauts for their heroic efforts so it was good to know that Armstrong is now living a very happy civilian life. I'm not sure in today's media centric society if someone like Armstrong would be picked today - but after reading this book it was clear he was the right man to accomplish the task.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 02-14-12
Intelligent use of the aural media.
What made the experience of listening to First Man the most enjoyable?
The use of actual audio from the period. Just enough to add to the story, but not so much that took from the book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- nylonsteel
- 10-12-20
good book about a man I admire
I had to read this book about Neil Armstrong since I admire him so much and I also wanted to read it since it's the official authorized biography. several years ago I just stopped reading books and I remember this book was one of the last three that I read. these days I'm more entertained by audiobooks visual media and streaming content. Audible has been a good source streaming content thank you
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Overall
- Tim
- 12-13-06
Not great, but pretty good
The book reflects Armstrong's personality: interesting but tends to bog down in detail a little every now and then. The only thing I really didn't like was the narrator changing his voice to reflect the different characters, including women. Wasn't necessary & is a distraction.
Overall, it's a pretty good book.
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5 people found this helpful
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- CO MTN CLIMR
- 02-10-19
Adds mission audio! ending felt abrupt.
Loved that they integrated the audio from mission control. I love the story all the way up until the last couple of chapters. It seemed to end abruptly after it transitioned to his personal life. I would have preferred to the author have add another chapter, or just stopped in how his flight impacted his teaching experience and perhaps though his NASA advisory roles later in his career.
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Overall
- Tim
- 09-19-08
A well written account of a riveting story
Its like being there again.
Very interesting and well written.
I had no trouble staying glued to the story.
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- Doug
- 12-22-18
Story is kept on point
This is the kind of book that could get bogged down in details and jargon - gladly, it does not. The story remains interesting and at the right level: peppered with an occasional audio track from actual space events as well as insights that lead us to understand Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins as men with ability, ambition and families.
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Overall
- Ken
- 07-05-09
Well done
Enjoyed it immensely. The story moves quickly. There is enough background material to understand the particulars of the mission. Some criticism of Armstrong. Good use of other biographies. And excellent use of audio archives. Kennedy's speech at Rice University, actual audio from the Apollo 11, etc.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Trendsetter1
- 07-19-15
Great! Especially for the next generation
What made the experience of listening to First Man the most enjoyable?
There are layered in "real" play backs when they were in certain parts of their
mission.
What did you like best about this story?
Armstrong; Aldrin, and Collins are truly American heroes. Too much to list
about was the best about the entire story of what they accomplished.
Have you listened to any of Boyd Gaines’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Well written. Excellent format as well.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When they lesft for the moon: takeoff
Any additional comments?
Listen to it. You'll be glad you did! Why they are all from Ohio is interesting.
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