Neil Armstrong

A Life of Flight

By: Jay Barbree

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Barbree writes about Neil's three passions - flight, family, and friends. This is the inside story of Neil Armstrong from the time he flew combat missions in the Korean War, to when he saved his Gemini 8 by flying the first emergency return from Earth orbit, to when he flew Apollo 11 to the moon's Sea of Tranquility.

Through his friendship with Neil and his dedicated research, Barbree brings us the most accurate account of his friend's life, the audiobook he and the famed astronaut planned together for 20 years.

©2014 Jay Barbree (P)2014 Tantor

Good story.

The story was as I anticipated, very good. I was disappointed with the performance. It wasn't very good, but it was clear and concise, especially the technical terms.

good story telling

an enjoyable listen. maybe a little too one -sided, but interesting. i wish i would've listened to this before visiting the space facility and museum in Houston.

great story of a great man. i learned a lot

Excellent book...highly recommend if you have any interest in space at all. It was also nice to hear things about the Russian side as well.

Great history of Neil Armstrong

I would consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the Apollo era, and I would say this book is pretty good. For someone new to the subject, it goes in to enough detail for you to understand things. For people who know more, there’s enough lesser known things to keep you entertained.

My personal hero

This great man should be a subject taught in schools of all grades and revered equal to Washington, Lincoln, and all great Americans.

Great Book!!

Loved every minute of it! Thank you! A must read for space geeks like me!

A Profound Personal Impact

Nothing influenced my life more than the early NASA programs, especially the Apollo missions. I still remember myself as a young 8-year-old, watching the moon landing along with the rest of the world. I was the perfect age upon which this historic event would ensure maximum impact.

A fond memory is going outside with my Dad and looking up at the moon and wondering if we could see the light from the craft circling the moon while Neil and Buzz where on the surface. I was in awe. Surprisingly, these events did not inspire me to be an astronaut but rather the awe of the universe sparked my curiosity and desire to become an astronomer.

Even at eight years old, I was voraciously reading every astronomy book in the adult section of the library. I memorized planetary data like sport stats on my baseball cards. I subscribed to Sky & Telescope magazine to keep appraised of the latest news in the space program and astronomy news in general.

The following year, for my 9th birthday, I received the best birthday gift of my life—a telescope. I cried. I wanted that more than Ralphie in the movie, A Christmas Story, wanted his Red Ryder BB gun. I used that thing at every opportunity to check out the universe and witness astronomical events no matter the time of day. I was ecstatic. I was gaining astronomical knowledge and I had the tools. I was on my way to becoming an astronomer!

Time passed and I eagerly awaited my time until I could go to high school to learn more about astronomy and take physics sophomore year. I knew physics was required for an astronomer and was already looking at colleges to see where I might like to go to get my degree. Life was good.

Then came sophomore year and physics; followed by the end of my dream. I had always been an “A” student except when it came to physics and geometry. I could not grasp working with vectors in physics nor theorems in geometry. While doing well in all other classes, I barely passed these two. I was defeated. If I could not handle high school level courses related to my dream, how could I expect to excel in those courses in college?

In hindsight, I believe I gave up too early and should have attempted it again in college, but what did I know? I still view being an astronomer as my dream job but don’t get me wrong; my life has turned out pretty darn good. I have a wonderful, healthy family and we are happy and comfortable. I have upgraded my telescope over the years and have maintained my passion for astronomy. Today I am among other things, a husband, father, son, brother, and. . . amateur astronomer.

Don’t know why I wrote all this. Not your typical review or commentary but it was cathartic. Reading this book made all these wonderful memories come flooding back and that’s the impact of the book upon me. So, I suppose I just want to thank America and NASA for all the wonderful things they did in helping shape this former little boy’s life.

Good luck, Mr. Gorsky!

I THOUGHT I new everything. Until Now

For any History Buffs but especially for those who love the History of the "Space Race".
There are some interesting things here that are new for me. And I thought I had read all there was to know about the subject.

Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight, is wonderful!

A great book about a True American Hero! I enjoyed the author's reading. Very enjoyable listening.

Riveting, historical account. . .

I loved this book. one of the best accounts of space pioneering. fascinating account of the first man to walk on the moon.