The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe's term for what it takes to challenge the limits of air and space exploration, oozes "manliness, manhood, manly courage," writes Stone as she tells the story of 13 women pilots dubbed the "Mercury 13." They withstood rigorous astronaut testing during America's fledgling manned space program and performed well, but they were denied further consideration in 1962. A year later, the Soviets put the first woman into space.
The Apollo 11 astronauts click, click, click on their spacesuits, wiggle into their hatch and lay on their backs - Armstrong on the left, Collins on the right and Aldrin in the middle. After their work on the moon is done, they carry "secrets of the sky" through the darkness "to warmth, to light, to home at last."
Only comic book heroes like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers blasted off into space in Aldrin's youth. The son of a pilot, Aldrin recalls photos of the Wright brothers and Amelia Earhart at home, his dad's love of flying inspiring him to reach for the stars. Aldrin traces exploration of the universe from Copernicus and encourages young people to carry the torch of science and space travel. It's Aldrin's second moon book for kids.
