RIGHT STUFF
From "America's nerviest journalist" (Newsweek)--a breath-taking epic, a magnificent adventure story, and an investigation into the true heroism and courage of the first Americans to conquer space. "Tom Wolfe at his very best" (The New York Times Book Review)
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.
Reviews (177)
A book by Wolfe, about Wolfe, for Wolfe. Not to be taken seriously
Since I was born in the 50s the space program is a shining memory of my childhood. I have never lost my interest is space and astronomy and flight. The Apollo 11 movie last year rekindled my interest (not that my interest was dead) and little by little I have become interested in reading everything that has been written about the entire era, starting from the X-1 and X-15, and everything about space flight and space exploration in general. It has become a bit of an obsession, its a huge and wonderful topic. I rented the Right Stuff as a movie and was not impressed. I was disgusted by its treatment of Gus Grissom, which I attributed to Hollywood and its grandiose arrogance. History is just an starting point for fiction, truths, half truths, and lies, for the sake of entertainment. People are misinformed about historical events in the first place then comes Hollywood and turns it into distorted semi-fictional entertainment. So, I read the book, figuring it must be better. It was actually much worse. I will give Wolfe credit for opening my eyes on the stupendous casualty rates of military pilots and test pilots. Anything that is not a clear fact in this book however, is just as likely an invention of the creative mind of Wolfe. Did he actually know what the test monkeys were thinking? Well no. DId he actually know what the astronauts were thinking? He would have had a better chance at that one, but I was very doubtful of much of his description of their thoughts until I got to the chapter on Grissom's flight, after which I would no more believe something that Wolfe says than I would believe something that trump says. He is simply flapping his gums for profit. Anyone who believes anything he says that cannot be fact checked is being gullible. I realized that Wolfe is like Howard Zinn. They both set out to destroy the sanitized highly patriotic versions of history and wound up replacing one set of overly kind propaganda with a different set of bitterly caustic propaganda. Bleh. I would not swallow very much of the viewpoints of either although there are grains of truth in their works. The problem of dealing with liars is that one has no idea when they might be telling the truth. As to Wolfe's style, it is incredibly repetitive and most of the book comes down to one or two ideas, which may or may not have much truth to them; these are pounded into the ground. Not knowing much about Wolfe I looked him up and I must say I wildly enjoyed the critics of his style. From Wiki: "... In 2000, Wolfe was criticised by Norman Mailer, John Updike and John Irving, after they were asked if they believed that his books were deserving of their critical acclaim. Mailer compared reading a Wolfe novel to having sex with a 300 lb woman, saying 'Once she gets to the top it's all over. Fall in love or be asphyxiated.' Updike was more literary in his reservedness: he claimed that one of his books 'amounts to entertainment, not literature, even literature in a modest aspirant form.' Irving was perhaps the most dismissive, saying 'It's like reading a bad newspaper or a bad piece in a magazine ... read sentences and watch yourself gag.' ..." Right on! For what Wolfe did to the truth about Gus Grissom's flight, and the harm he caused to his reputation and family, I would be tempted to find Wolfe's grave and piss on it, it would be fitting. It also would be more effort than the man deserves. I wish Grissom's estate and family had sued Wolfe. His pathograpy of Grissom based on obvious mistruths, when the actual facts and details are not hard to find about the flight, is very, very low and small. Grissom himself was not around around to defend himself, but I am glad he did not have to read this garbage. I was already skimming through most of the book, its a book more about Tom Wolfe than a book about real events, after the Grissom chapter I very briefly skimmed the rest of the book, since I had established that the author was not honest. (I guess that I myself am pounding my reaction a bit into the ground.) The Right Stuff has gone into my woodstove and is now, at last, providing some heat, if not much light.
Tom Wolfe wrote the heck outta this
This book is about the Mercury Project, NASA’s first manned space missions, and the origins of the astronaut program. Tom Wolfe was a practitioner of “New Journalism.” The only previous experience that I had with that style was with Hunter S. Thompson’s alcohol-and-other-drugs-fueled escapades in Las Vegas while covering a race for Sports Illustrated and his alcohol-fueled experiences at the Kentucky Derby. Based on those reading experiences, it was my understanding that one of the hallmarks of New Journalism was Journalist-as-Participant. The historical record, however, is pretty clear that a drunk Tom Wolfe had not, in fact, been blasted into orbit with John Glenn or any of the other Mercury 7 astronauts. How then is The Right Stuff an example New Journalism? Well, Tom Wolfe wrote his butt off. The book reads more “literary” than as an object of traditional journalism. Let me explain…no, there is too much…let me sum up…A traditional journalistic or scholarly book about the early astronauts and “what made them tick” might include quotations from interviews with those astronauts and people that knew them, government officials and news reporters from the time, and maybe a few academics to provide some Authoritative Interpretation. The writer wouldn’t put forth a theory of their own about the astronaut motivations, or, if they did, there’d be a ton of explicit sources backing them up. Tom Wolfe just puts his theories out there, front and center, and then writes with such force – with repeated interjections, sometimes with exclamations! – and capitalizations and callbacks and pretty descriptions and literary techniques that the reader will forget that they are reading some nonfiction book; this story may be (at least in some sense) true, but it reads like a novel. It never really dives into the minutiae of bureaucratic organization nor is it really interested in any one’s point of view other than that which drives the author’s central point: the astronauts were military test pilots fueled by a Manly Competitive Desire to BE THE BEST and that performing well under pressure in that competition exhibits The Right Stuff (which is never explicitly defined, although I have my own theories). I am a fan of David Foster Wallace’s writing, and I could see a clear influence from Tom Wolfe’s style in Wallace’s writing. And David Foster Wallace was certainly not the only literary writer influenced by Wolfe. Fans of literature really should check this out, just to trace back certain styles to their creator (or popularizer). Science fiction fans could be inspired by a (more or less) true account of fighter pilot personality and how their influence (or lack thereof) could impact a fictional space program. Fans of nonfiction could see that there are ways of telling a nonfiction story rather than the usual, traditional methodologies. I’d recommend this book to anyone, just with the disclaimer that it is NOT like the usual biographical or documentary-style rendition of the Mercury Project. The writer’s style is definitely noticeable, and some might be distracted by it (or it could just not be to their taste).
Great Read
After seeing the movie numerous times, I thought it was time to finally read the book. Although sometimes the language can be colorful and literary, overall I could not put it down, and finished it in just a few days.
A must-read account of the space race
Tom Wolfe’s account of the test pilot program in the time of Chuck Yeager and the Mercury astronauts is a fascinating look back at a special time in American history. His sardonic take on many details had me laughing, and his genuine love and admiration for the men involved comes shining through in his writing. A line from the end probably sums it up best: “but the day when an astronaut could parade up Broadway while traffic policemen wept in the intersections was no more." This was the story of that time.
Well worth reading in light of todays political and space environment.
With the 50th Anniversary of the moon landing, I thought the rereading of “The Right Stuff” might be worthwhile. It was. I’d forgotten much of what had been covered in Tom Wolfe’s book, but the added perspective of some 30 plus years gives new resonance to his take on our space program and politics of that period. Through my work, I had the chance to meet with Pete Conrad in the early 90’s. He is the first pilot/astronaut that he introduces in his book, and uses his life to introduce the reader to what it takes to have the Right Stuff. He was not chosen in the first group of Astronauts, but in the second. And Wolfe introduces the changes in the perception of the pilots and of the public as to what it meant to be an Astronaut in that intervening time. Well worth rereading in light of today's political and space environment.
A classic, written in an unusual style
I've always been a huge fan of the movie from 1983, so I finally decided to read the book. It's, in a word, odd. It's not written in the standard "so-and-so said this, then this happened, then he said this" style of storytelling. Instead, it's told as an observer describing the situation and its undercurrent, with a large dose of sarcasm. Wolfe undercuts the notion of their hero status, and presents the astronauts not as men, but as ideas and perceptions. At times it's hilarious, other times maddeningly wordy. Sometimes interesting, other times it wanders into the weeds. There's a lot of good historical info that's not in the movie, which I found interesting, but some if it is difficult to glean as Wolfe spends so much time telling us "what it all means," instead of the nuts and bolts of "what happened." Overall, it's a good read once you get used to the style, especially for those of us that grew up during the Space Race.
“ The Right Stuff “ is the RIGHT STUFF
I was pleasantly surprised reading Wolfe’s The Right Stuff. I expected it might be more of the same old, same old. It isn’t. Wolfe’s style is factually detailed to include relationships, how they developed between pilots, spouses, politicians and the Armed Services. Tipping off my age, reading this book brought the actual jet and space flights back to life from my early youth. Perhaps the most fascinating element of the book was the political response, the OMG of the folks inside the beltway even in the 50’s and 60’s as they couldn’t bear having to chase the USSR into space. The book was also a good reminder of how the media can be hounding those who they believe can help them with their reporting. All in all, just a terrific read and a very enjoyable journey through a less complex time in our history. You will enjoy reading about some real 20th century American heroes and why they were exceptional.
perfect stuff...
I grew up in Lancaster, CA a few minutes south of Edwards Air Force Base. Sonic booms and low flying jets overhead were a part of my childhood. Aviation history happened in my backyard and I am fascinated by it all. How did we go from the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk to Yeager and the speed of sound in just fifty years? The Right Stuff is a classic. Published in 1979, Wolfe chronicles the life of test pilots as they journey to be the first men in space. Any way you look it, this is an amazing piece of American history. If you love science and technology, you can admire the technical aspects. If you love grit and genius, you can admire the determination and bravery of the first astronauts. If you love political history, you can admire the Cold War politics manifesting through manned space flight. This is the first time I have read celebrated author Tom Wolfe and I am very impressed. It would be very easy to spout historical narratives in a very dry and boring manner. Instead, Wolfe keeps you captivated the whole time, even when I knew the end of the story.
Fascinating read
A superbly written story of the first seven US astronauts. The author brilliantly describes the macho culture of the test pilots, the rigorous training, the arduous and occasionally humiliating medical procedures and selection process they undertook to become 'star voyagers', and finally the exhilaration of the first US space flights. Wolfe is absolutely in love with his heroes and with the grandeur of space exploration, but he is also a sharp and critical observer, contrasting the macho attitudes of the astronauts with the nervousness and panic of the wives awaiting their husbands' return from another dangerous voyage, skewering the shallow and obnoxious press (which he ironically dubs The Genteel Beast) and mocking the politicians ready to use lofty goals of space exploration in their machinations. There is one downside, though: the book occasionally becomes very Keroauc-esque in its language, all-too-vivid descriptions (quick admission: I hate On the Road with a passion), and even punctuation: the ellipses and exclamation signs are sprinkled throughout the text too liberally for my taste. But in a weird way, this style suits the epicness of the book's subject and doesn't detract from the overall pleasure of reading it. One other thing: Wolfe seems to get a lot of flak for his 'slanderous' treatment of Gus Grissom, which in my opinion is undeserved. If you actually read the book, you'll find that Wolfe doesn't state or even imply that Grissom actually 'screwed the pooch', i.e. blew the escape hatch of his pod prematurely. All Wolfe says in the book is that there were rumors that Grissom had actually done it, and these rumors weighed heavily on Gus and his wife. In fact, Gus was probably my favorite 'character' in the book, so much that upon finishing I immediately went to scour Wikipedia and online book shops trying to learn more about him. Make of it what you will.
Seen the film? Then read the book!
I have seen the film countless times since 1983 and loved it. I grew up during the Apollo Era and remembered the network coverage and excitement but never got around to read Wolfe’s book. How I wished I had read it earlier. Terrific account of the early space race (pre-Apollo) balanced between Yeager and friends at Edwards and the Mercury 7 in Florida. Adds so much background to the mindset of the original seven and Yeager during that period of unease as America dueled with the Soviets for “the high ground of space”. People who were not alive at the time might struggle with understanding the hero worship aimed at these men. Wolfe’s book helps those who missed it TO understand. Highly recommended.
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