First published in 1979 to extraordinary acclaim, Tom Wolfes landmark work became an instant bestseller, going on to sell more than 2.5 million copies. It is a true story that is as exciting as the best fictionthe tale of American heroes Yeager, Conrad, Grissom, and Glennmen who were willing to put their lives on the line in pursuit of the final frontier. With stunning accuracy and captivating prose, Wolfe recounts the details of the lives of these men, their families, and of NASAs Project Mercury program. The result is a vivid history that could only be enhanced by actual historic photographs. The Right Stuff Illustrated includes hundreds of photographs and reproductions of documents and memorabilia pertaining to the Project Mercury program, the current events surrounding the program, and the political climate that led up to the missions in the early 1960s. Its the perfect gift book for lovers of history and the space program, as well as the millions of fans of The Right Stuff.
The Right Stuff
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Tom Wolfe began The Right Stuff at a time when it was unfashionable to contemplate American heroism. Nixon had left the White House in disgrace, the nation was reeling from the catastrophe of Vietnam, and in 1979--the year the book appeared--Americans were being held hostage by Iranian militants. Yet it was exactly the anachronistic courage of his subjects that captivated Wolfe. In his foreword, he notes that as late as 1970, almost one in four career Navy pilots died in accidents. "The Right Stuff," he explains, "became a story of why men were willing--willing?--delighted!--to take on such odds in this, an era literary people had long since characterized as the age of the anti-hero."
Wolfe's roots in New Journalism were intertwined with the nonfiction novel that Truman Capote had pioneered with In Cold Blood. As Capote did, Wolfe tells his story from a limited omniscient perspective, dropping into the lives of his "characters" as each in turn becomes a major player in the space program. After an opening chapter on the terror of being a test pilot's wife, the story cuts back to the late 1940s, when Americans were first attempting to break the sound barrier. Test pilots, we discover, are people who live fast lives with dangerous machines, not all of them airborne.
Wolfe traces Alan Shepard's suborbital flight and Gus Grissom's embarrassing panic on the high seas (making the controversial claim that Grissom flooded his Liberty capsule by blowing the escape hatch too soon). The author also produces an admiring portrait of John Glenn's apple-pie heroism and selfless dedication. By the time Wolfe concludes with a return to Yeager and his late-career exploits, the narrative's epic proportions and literary merits are secure. Certainly The Right Stuff is the best, the funniest, and the most vivid book ever written about America's manned space program. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
"An exhilarating flight into fear, love, beauty and fiery death ... magnificent."
-- "People
"It is Tom Wolfe at his very best ... technically accurate, learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic -- The Right Stuff is superb."
-- "The New York Times Book Review
"Breathtaking ... epic ... There are images and ideas in The Right Stuff that glisten like a rocket screaming to the heavens."
-- "Los Angeles Times
"Romantic and thrilling ... One of the most romantic and thrilling books ever written about men who put themselves in peril."
-- "The Boston Globe
"It's magic ... the best book I have read in the last ten years."
-- "Chicago Tribune
Also by Tom Wolfe:
The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
From Bauhaus to Our House
The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby
The Painted Word
The Right Stuff
Mauve Gloves & Madmen
Clutter & Vine
In Our Time
The Pumphouse Gang
Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers
Available wherever Bantam Books are sold
-- "People
"It is Tom Wolfe at his very best ... technically accurate, learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic -- The Right Stuff is superb."
-- "The New York Times Book Review
"Breathtaking ... epic ... There are images and ideas in The Right Stuff that glisten like a rocket screaming to the heavens."
-- "Los Angeles Times
"Romantic and thrilling ... One of the most romantic and thrilling books ever written about men who put themselves in peril."
-- "The Boston Globe
"It's magic ... the best book I have read in the last ten years."
-- "Chicago Tribune
Also by Tom Wolfe:
The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
From Bauhaus to Our House
The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby
The Painted Word
The Right Stuff
Mauve Gloves & Madmen
Clutter & Vine
In Our Time
The Pumphouse Gang
Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers
Available wherever Bantam Books are sold
Inside This Book
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Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Within five minutes, or ten minutes, no more than that, three of the others had called her on the telephone to ask her if she had heard that something had happened out there. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Within five minutes, or ten minutes, no more than that, three of the others had called her on the telephone to ask her if she had heard that something had happened out there. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
There was a time when space flight launch and missions were covered on live TV not a 30 second clip at the end of the news. I read this book when it first came out. I bought this book for my son-in-law after we toured NASA and Cape Canaveral. The book is a must read to understand the NASA program and the type of men that lead the way to space.
By Ken Zowal
Format:Paperback
My boss lent me this book in about 1982. He also had just invited me to become a member of the Southern California Soaring Club (gliders). For me, it was the most important and inspiring book of its decade. As a kid, the astronauts were, to me, mythic figures who risked their lives to prove what we were worth as Americans. Several of them died in the process. The space race was not some society social. These guys embodied what President Kennedy said, that "...We do not do these things because they are easy. We do them because they are hard." That, to me, epitomizes the meaning of the term, The Right Stuff. Kennedy's statement resonated with me at the age of nine. Tom Wolfe's book brought me down from the clouds right to ground zero. All the faults and foibles of the astronauts, and the process of becoming one, grabbed me as incredibly real and authentic. It also convinced me that heroes often don't have names like Smith and Jones. And they all don't look like Gregory Peck. And that their wives sacrificed so much, and kept their best face forward, where others would have collapsed under the weight. It is also an incredibly funny book (the red boots, and other anecdoetes).
This is inspiring nonfiction of the highest order. It was the near prospect of imminent death that brought it all together. They were modern samurai. It was a huge gamble, and we all went for it. Other reviewers have commented elequently on Tom Wofle's prodigious writing talent, so I will leave it there. Bottom line, you can count on one hand novels that captured the full depth and breadth of intense emotion that surrounded the space race of the 1960s. Particularly in the late 70s and early 80s. Jim Lovell's Lost Moon is a good example.
Those were heady years, and I wish to God we could have them again, today. Compared with today, the years of the space race were the best years of our lives. And Wolfe captured all those emotions brilliantly. For me, it was America's finest hour. When we sat around the kitchen table and watched Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, it was, for me at least, the crowning achievement of the human race. I am thankful to have witnessed it, live. I will treasure that memory forever.
Format:Paperback
"The Right Stuff" BY Tom Wolfe's book was a wonderful American story about the Mercury space program that told the tale of U.S. pilots just brimming with gusto, bravado and...the right stuff.
STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM
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4.4 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Stuff
Although Tom Wolfe's way of writing may seem strange and at times weird, the story of these test pilots and pioneer astronauts is a classic. Read more
Published on May 9 2004 by Alex Salazar
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another page-turning book
Hey, I stayed up way to late reading this book our national effort to win the space race. Included in this book is the contributions of the pilots from Joshua treed, dusty desert... Read more
Published on May 7 2004 by Penmouse
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my all time favorite books...
This book is just a thoroughly enjoyable read. Funny, exciting, charming, moving; what more could you want? Read more
Published on July 4 2003 by L. R. Travis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Six star entertainment
Tom Wolfe gives a brilliantly entertaining and inspirational book about one of the most colorful chapters in recent American history -- from the first supersonic piloted flight up... Read more
Published on Jun 18 2003 by Brad4d
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Movie, Even Better Book
"The Right Stuff" by Thomas Wolfe details the manned space race between Russia and the United States. It focuses on the United States' effort to put a man into space. Read more
Published on May 29 2003 by Travis J Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great ride
Tom Wolfe's rollicking style (exclamation points!) can take a little getting used to, but once you settle in, you'll find that this is not just a fun-to-read book, but a... Read more
Published on Dec 11 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shooting for the Stars
I opened this book with a limited interest in the Space Race, jet pilots, or Tom Wolfe, but have become fascinated by all three. Read more
Published on Sep 7 2002 by Z. Blume
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wolfe's prose push the envelope
This non-fiction tells more than the story of America's race for space - but actually tells a deeper story: of America's push into the next frontier and how it discarded the heroes... Read more
Published on April 14 2002 by Rottenberg's rotten book review
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book
At first, this book looked ok. When I started to read it I really got an interest in the Space Race Era. Read more
Published on Mar 7 2002 by Ryan Williams
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Wrong Stuff
I thought I would read this book after seeing a long reference to it in "Adventures in the Screenwriting Trade" by William Goldman. Read more
Published on Dec 17 2001 by suetonius
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