Book Reports /
"the right stuff" book report. [5]
I know I know...I'm one of those ppl who do things at the very last moment. Its called laziness :).
i'll appreciate anyone who reads this...
i'll garantee that u will find thousands of grammerical mistakes :)
enjoy!
(seriously, i need heeeelp! soooooon)
btw, these are the contents we need to have:
Write a summary of the book that includes a minimum of five integrated and cited (page numbers) quotes. You must explain why you think these particular quotes are of significance to gaining an understanding of the book's content.
2. An evaluation of the book's purpose. Why did the author write the book? Is the book historically important (WHY)? Does it give the reader important information (WHY)? What sort of reader does the book seem to target and why do you think this is so? Do you think the author may have been biased by personal experience or other factors (WHY)?
3. Your personal reaction to the book, which can include the author's style, the information included in the book, or as a comparison to other material you have read or studied in the classes.
and here's it the essay.
The right stuff tells the untold story of those who were a part of the America's first effort to put men in space -which itself, was part of the "space race" that was going on between United stated and the Soviet Union. Although the race was on exploration and technical promotions, but Tom Wolfe, the author prefers to focus on the personal lives of the pilots and astronauts, on their wives, hardships of their lives and their thoughts and concerns.
For several times the author mentions the way pilot's wives think and feel about their husbands' job, such as, "As far as the wives were concerned, their outlook was the same as that of officers' wives generally, only more so. The main thing was not to say or do anything that reflected badly upon your husband." Chapter 6, Page 125 , or as mentioned in second chapter, "Sometimes, when the young wife of a fighter pilot would have a little reunion with the girls she went to school with, an odd fact would dawn on her; they had not been going to funerals." page 22.
The "Mercury Seven" -the name which was later given to seven astronauts- were John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Alan Shepard, Scott Carpenter, Deke Slayton, Gordon Cooper and Wally Schirra, Whom their only alive and present members are John Glenn and Scott Carpenter. Wolfe also involves some political reasons of putting people in the space in his book.
The author tries to put the astronauts in contrast to the Edwards test pilots, and the best of them Chuck Yeager; A brave and very skilled man with "Only a high-school education, no credentials, no cachet or polish of any sort" Chapter 3, Page 35. In his time Yeager was referred to as "the best of the bests" and as Wolfe notes, he was "was the drawl of the most righteous of all the possessors of the right stuff" Chapter 3, page 35. Yeager also was the first man to break the sound barrier at October 14, 1947, flying the Bell X-1.
President Eisenhower asked for test pilots who were "under five feet eleven and no older that thirty-nine" page 59. Also they had to be " graduates of test-pilot schools, with at least 1,500 hours of flying time and experience in jets, and that they have bachelor's degrees 'or the equivalent'." Page 59. Yeager, despite of his skills and experiences, couldn't make it to the "Seven Mercury" because of his education which was no higher that high school. However there were many other test pilots who couldn't make it to the Mercury seven for other reasons, such as Pete Conrad, who couldn't pass the Medical tests.
At the end of the book authors mentions that the mood of the country has changed, Russians are not as of a big threat anymore and so aren't the astronauts as great of national heroes anymore. Yeager gets a narrow escape from death in one of greatest plane tests, that was a big hope in developing a space based military, and others are eventually forgotten by people.
I think that "The Right Stuff" is a good book as far as its audience is normal status people, because you will not find any technical or scientific term that you find extremely hard to understand or to distract you from what Wolfe is really trying to tell you; the story of great people who became national heroes, their lives, and their families and the way of a country to improvement and promotions. Although sometimes it glamorize and praises some characters too much (such as Yeager) but I never felt like the author had been biased by his personal ideas.
Considering this book a work of nonfiction, "The Right Stuff" is a very popular and successful book. It seems like many people have liked Wolfe's way of telling this true story; talking about astronauts and pilots as heroes and glamorizing them, or in the other words, telling a nonfiction story in a fiction way.
Personally, I did not like author's style. It's probably just because of my very personal taste; while reading a nonfiction book I expect to receive a shower of facts and details in each page, not stuff like how the person was feeling like or what was he thinking about his wife. It appeals to many people but not to me.
For me it was sometimes hard to keep on reading because author was talking too much about unnecessarily details and I felt like it was really boring. However, at some points, Wolfe had done a very good job on describing important and breath taking moments, such as when Yeager was breaking the sound barrier or the mission that almost killed him.
Generally, "The Right Stuff" was a good piece of work; it does not disappoint most of the people who choose to read it. I chose it because I'm interested in astronomy and space, and although it kind of disappointed me in this case, I think I might recommend it to some friend in future.
