The X-15 Rocket Plane

Flying the First Wings into Space

By: Michelle L. Evans

Narrated by: Gary L. Willprecht

Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

With the Soviet Union's launch of the first Sputnik satellite in 1957, the Cold War soared to new heights as Americans feared losing the race into space. The X-15 Rocket Plane tells the enthralling yet little-known story of the hypersonic X-15, the winged rocket ship that met this challenge and opened the way into human-controlled spaceflight.

Drawing on interviews with those who were there, Michelle Evans captures the drama and excitement of, yes, rocket science: how to handle the heat generated at speeds up to Mach 7, how to make a rocket propulsion system that could throttle, and how to safely reenter the atmosphere from space and make a precision landing.

This book puts a human face on the feats of science and engineering that went into the X-15 program, many of them critical to the development of the Space Shuttle. And, finally, it introduces us to the largely unsung pilots of the X-15. By the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing, 31 American astronauts had flown into space - eight of them astronaut-pilots of the X-15. The X-15 Rocket Plane restores these pioneers, and the others who made it happen, to their rightful place in the history of spaceflight.

©2013 Michelle Evans (P)2014 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"The X-15 Rocket Plane is an engaging account of America's push into space before pilots became astronauts, and America began a new era of exploration beyond the Earth to the Moon." (Space Review)

“In this gripping book, Michelle Evans brings to life the X-15 and the aerospace pioneers who made it a success. For those already aware of the program, this will bring back fond memories and renew an appreciation for the remarkable people who conceived, operated, and supported this incredible craft. For those who aren't, prepare for an incredible journey of discovery.” (Richard P. Hallion, former historian of the USAF)

Great book, poor presentation

Would you be willing to try another one of Gary L. Willprecht’s performances?

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's too long for that.

Any additional comments?

The reader inserts pauses and emphasis in inappropriate places. The use of pauses and stressing of words should be consistent with, and support the text. In this book, they detract from it. I'm only half way through the book, but I'm considering abandoning it because I find the presentation so distracting.

Most thorough and honest book on X-15 you'll find

If you have any sort of substantial interest in the X-15 you'll want to read this excellent book on the program. While the primary focus is on the pilots, Evans succeeded in getting a truly wide array of those involved in the project on every level to reflect deeply, and talk honestly, about the successes and failures of the program, both in terms of hardware and the very real humanity of the participants. It's very well written and truly brimming with information and insights, large portions of which I had never encountered before.

As it follows the careers of the pilots you'll find triumphs and tragedies (sorry about the cliche) on personal as well as professional levels. Because Evans looks at entire careers there is also quite a bit of information about the manned space program. People name names in their often pointed observations and even outright criticisms. But the book is not gossipy or prurient.

I found the reading uneven and sometimes bothersome. Seeing as how the author is a woman I would have preferred a female reader. The performer had, I thought, an odd cadence and unusual inflections that I found off-putting at times. But these are quibbles.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely search for other works by Michelle Evans.

wonderful bird

The X15 was an aircraft that taught us so much. I have had to the honor of seeing an X15

Too many stories

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Mostly

What did you like best about this story?

The engineering

What aspect of Gary L. Willprecht’s performance would you have changed?

NA

Could you see The X-15 Rocket Plane being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

NA

Any additional comments?

Too many stories from the pilots it was like listening to the weather channel going over the same storm for hours, makes one want to pull the plug
The book was just too much

awesome

vary informative and vary entertaining. grate narration, and vary intresting topic. leaves you with a new appreciation for the history of flight.

Great

Really good detail about the pilots and the flight test program
I really enjoyed it

Good, But Understand What It Is

This is an interesting book with an exhaustive (some would probably say "exhausting") amount of material. Understand what this book is: It is essentially a series of biographies of the pilots who flew the X-15, focusing on their time in the X-15 program. It is not overly technical, although it does cover the capabilities and limitations of the plane quite well.

The biographies are written in the chronological order in which the pilots flew the plane. The problem with this approach is that the pilots' time with the planes (there were three X-15s) overlapped. As a result, facts are repeated and the timeline jumps back and forth. The approach also makes the book unnecessarily long.

The author should be praised for what appears to be detailed and diligent research. This is important history that should be preserved. Her writing is a little stilted and overly detailed (much like military reports), and probably quotes post-flight reports too liberally. (The pilots tend to write their reports in a somewhat off-putting style, often using the third person and stating almost everything in passive voice). Nevertheless, she moves through the material on each pilot.

What the book could really have used is a good editor. I would have preferred the book to move in a chronological order with the biographical detail woven in. This would have resulted in a better read.

A word of warning on the narration: Others have criticized the pace and unnatural pauses. I think the pace is fine, but agree that some of the pauses seem strange. But the major reservation I have is that the narrator's voice is grating. He speaks with a very high pitched and nasal upper Midwestern accent. Listen to the sample to make sure you are ready for 18 hours of this.

Great Story, poor performance

Any additional comments?

I love reading books about test pilots and astronauts. I knew a little bit about the X-15 program, but not a ton. It was a great story, that was fairly well written, but as most of the other reviews state, isn't very well performed by the reader. I think it's still worth listening to, but it gets a little annoying. My biggest complaint is how the reader puts annoying pauses in places ...(awkward pause)... where they don't belong.

This book also brushes on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. If you have any interest in those programs at all, and you haven't already, you HAVE to read Andrew Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon." It is by far the best book on the subject.

After listening to this X-15 book, I went back and listened to A Man on the Moon again (for like the 5th time), and it was so refreshing to hear how much better that book is performed, and written. Again, this X-15 book is fairly good, but not performed very well.

Unique, important history of US Space Program

Michelle's 30 years of research and interviews is an important read for all persons interested in the development of US aerospace. Insightful and compassionate and frank interviews make this an important document of history.

Not your typical enginnerd read. This is about the men and their families that flew into space and faster powered flight than any wings aloft.

The X-15 pilots would have been the first American men into space. But politics prevailed and Al Sherperd achieved that distinction.

my only complaint is the narrator's timing and mis-pronunciation of many terms, phrases and words. Fortunately the subject matter was strong enough to reveal over his shortfalls.

This narrator really stunk up a wonderfull story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend that they read this book instead of listening to it.... .because the narrator pauses.... in places that don't...... make sense. Very distracting to the story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This..... narrator pauses.... often, and in very unusual places.

Did The X-15 Rocket Plane inspire you to do anything?

The X-15 Rocket Plane inspired me to write a review as the the narrator detracted so noticeably from this amazing story.

Any additional comments?