The Right Stuff: A Novel - Softcover

Wolfe, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553381350 ISBN 13: 9780553381351

Publisher: Bantam Dell Pub Group, 2001

Synopsis

The moments of grandeur and weakness, the aspirations, and the problems of America's test pilots and first astronauts are revealed in an exploration of the dimensions of their inner lives in space, on the moon, and on the earth. Reprint.

About this title

Review:

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

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

"Technically accurate, learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic . . . "The Right Stuff "is superb.""--The New York Times Book Review"

"One of the most romantic and thrilling books ever written about men who put themselves in peril.""--The Boston Globe"

"An exhilarating flight into fear, love, beauty, and fiery death . . . Magnificent."--"People"

"Absolutely first class . . . Improbable as some of Wolfe's tales seem, I know he's telling it like it was.""--The Washington Post Book World"

"Crammed with inside poop and racy incident . . . fast cars, booze, astro groupies, the envies and injuries of the military caste system . . . Wolfe lays it all out in brilliantly staged Op Lit scenes."--"Time"

"Splendid . . . It shows our propensity to manufacture heroes, and, just as quickly, to forget them; it shows how a scientific program was exploited for political advantage; it provides a revealing character study of seven exceptional Americans."--"The Saturday Review"

"Technically accurate, learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic . . . "The Right Stuff "is superb.""--The New York Times Book Review"

"One of the most romantic and thrilling books ever written about men who put themselves in peril.""--The Boston Globe"

"An exhilarating flight into fear, love, beauty, and fiery death . . . Magnificent."--"People"

"Absolutely first class . . . Improbable as some of Wolfe's tales seem, I know he's telling it like it was.""--The Washington Post Book World"

"Crammed with inside poop and racy incident . . . fast cars, booze, astro groupies, the envies and injuries of the military caste system . . . Wolfe lays it all out in brilliantly staged Op Lit scenes."--"Time"

"Splendid . . . It shows our propensity to manufacture heroes, and, just as quickly, to forget them; it shows how a scientific program was exploited for political advantage; it provides a revealing character study of seven exceptional Americans."--"The Saturday Review"

Technically accurate, learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic . . . "The Right Stuff "is superb. "The New York Times Book Review"

One of the most romantic and thrilling books ever written about men who put themselves in peril. "The Boston Globe"

An exhilarating flight into fear, love, beauty, and fiery death . . . Magnificent. "People"

Absolutely first class . . . Improbable as some of Wolfe's tales seem, I know he's telling it like it was. "The Washington Post Book World"

Crammed with inside poop and racy incident . . . fast cars, booze, astro groupies, the envies and injuries of the military caste system . . . Wolfe lays it all out in brilliantly staged Op Lit scenes. "Time"

Splendid . . . It shows our propensity to manufacture heroes, and, just as quickly, to forget them; it shows how a scientific program was exploited for political advantage; it provides a revealing character study of seven exceptional Americans. "The Saturday Review""

Technically accurate, learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic . . . The Right Stuff is superb. The New York Times Book Review

One of the most romantic and thrilling books ever written about men who put themselves in peril. The Boston Globe

An exhilarating flight into fear, love, beauty, and fiery death . . . Magnificent. People

Absolutely first class . . . Improbable as some of Wolfe's tales seem, I know he's telling it like it was. The Washington Post Book World

Crammed with inside poop and racy incident . . . fast cars, booze, astro groupies, the envies and injuries of the military caste system . . . Wolfe lays it all out in brilliantly staged Op Lit scenes. Time

Splendid . . . It shows our propensity to manufacture heroes, and, just as quickly, to forget them; it shows how a scientific program was exploited for political advantage; it provides a revealing character study of seven exceptional Americans. The Saturday Review

"

"Technically accurate, learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic . . . The Right Stuff is superb." --The New York Times Book Review

"One of the most romantic and thrilling books ever written about men who put themselves in peril." --The Boston Globe

"An exhilarating flight into fear, love, beauty, and fiery death . . . Magnificent." --People

"Absolutely first class . . . Improbable as some of Wolfe's tales seem, I know he's telling it like it was." --The Washington Post Book World

"Crammed with inside poop and racy incident . . . fast cars, booze, astro groupies, the envies and injuries of the military caste system . . . Wolfe lays it all out in brilliantly staged Op Lit scenes." --Time

"Splendid . . . It shows our propensity to manufacture heroes, and, just as quickly, to forget them; it shows how a scientific program was exploited for political advantage; it provides a revealing character study of seven exceptional Americans." --The Saturday Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam Dell Pub Group
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0553381350
• ISBN 13: 9780553381351
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352