A Reluctant Icon: Letters to Neil Armstrong

by James R. Hansen (Editor)

Overview

Artfully curated by James R. Hansen, A Reluctant Icon: Letters to Neil Armstrong is a companion volume to Dear Neil Armstrong: Letters to the First Man from All Mankind, collecting hundreds more letters Armstrong received after first stepping on the moon until his death in 2012. Providing context and commentary, Hansen has assembled the letters by the following themes: religion and belief; anger, disappointment, and disillusionment; quacks, conspiracy theorists, and ufologists; fellow astronauts and the world of flight; the corporate world; celebrities, stars, and notables; and last messages.

Taken together, both collections provide fascinating insights into the world of an iconic hero who took that first giant leap onto lunar soil willingly and thereby stepped into the public eye with reluctance. Space enthusiasts, historians, and lovers of all things related to flight will not want to miss this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557539694
Publisher:	Purdue University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2020
Series:	Purdue Studies in Aeronautics and Astronautics
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	1,107,508
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

James R. Hansen is professor emeritus of history at Auburn University in Alabama. An expert in aerospace history and the history of science and technology, Hansen has published a dozen books and numerous articles covering a wide variety of topics, including the early days of aviation, the history of aerospace engineering, NASA, the Moon landings, the Space Shuttle program, and China’s role in space. In 1995 NASA nominated his book Spaceflight Revolution for a Pulitzer Prize. His book First Man, which is the only authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, spent three weeks as a New York Times Best Seller in 2005 and 2018 and garnered a number of major book awards. Translations of First Man have been published in more than twenty languages. A Universal Studios film adaptation of the book hit the silver screen in October 2018, with Academy Award winner (La La Land ) Damien Chazelle directing the film and actor Ryan Gosling starring as Armstrong. Hansen served as coproducer for the film.

Over the years Hansen has served on a number of important advisory boards and panels, including the Research Advisory Board for the National Air and Space Museum, Editorial Advisory Board for the Smithsonian Institution Press, and Advisory Board for the Archives of Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He also is a past vice president of the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton, Virginia. For the past ten years he has served on the National Air and Space Museum Trophy Selection Board. His experience as an academic and public speaker has been wide-ranging both topically and geographically; he frequently serves as keynote speaker, panelist, and lecturer on a wide variety of topics in the history of science and technology.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Religion and Belief 1

2 Anger, Disappointment, and Disillusionment 36

3 Quacks, Conspiracy Theorists, and Ufologists 55

4 Fellow Astronauts and the World of Flight 107

5 The Corporate World 190

6 Celebrities, Stars, and Notables 214

7 Letters from a Grieving World 272

Notes 377

About the Editor 383

Editorial Reviews

"A Reluctant Icon is overall very enjoyable. The conversational tone of the letters makes the book a page-turner that is hard to put down. Highly recommended!" —National Space Society

"Hansen's latest contribution to Armstrong scholarship, [and] lives up to its title; it shows a First Man who, while being unfailingly modest and polite, is more at ease turning down public appearances and entreaties to reveal more about his personal beliefs and peccadilloes than making splashy celebrity cameos. In turn, the less-than-revealing Armstrong reveals a lot about his personality, and his values— even by his silence. This latest volume of letters, perhaps even more than the first volume, reveals the incredible burden of fame Armstrong was forced to endure following Apollo 11. In A Reluctant Icon, here we see a truly complete account of Armstrong's life— and death." —National Space Society

"Neil Armstrong may not have always been the person we wanted him to be after Apollo 11. But he owed us nothing. He didn't let us down. Instead, judging by so many of the letters in this book, it was we who let him down." —Francis French

From the Publisher