Preface ix
Prologue: The Launch 1
Part 1 Boy Pilot
Chapter 1 An American Genesis 9
Chapter 2 Smallville 15
Chapter 3 Truth in the Air 21
Chapter 4 Aeronautical Engineering 101 27
Part 2 Naval Aviator
Chapter 5 Wings of Gold 35
Chapter 6 Fighter Squadron 51 46
Part 3 Research Pilot
Chapter 7 Above the High Desert 57
Chapter 8 At the Edge of Space 71
Chapter 9 The Worst Loss 81
Chapter 10 Higher Resolve 85
Chapter 11 I've Got a Secret 99
Part 4 Astronaut
Chapter 12 Training Days 107
Chapter 13 In Line for Command 114
Chapter 14 Gemini VIII 121
Chapter 15 The Astronaut's Wife 137
Chapter 16 For All America 144
Part 5 Apollo Commander
Chapter 17 Out of the Ashes 151
Chapter 18 Wingless on Luna 157
Chapter 19 Amiable Strangers 168
Chapter 20 First Out 177
Chapter 21 Dialectics of a Moon Mission 185
Part 6 Moonwalker
Chapter 22 Outward Bound 207
Chapter 23 The Landing 229
Chapter 24 One Small Step 255
Chapter 25 Return to Earth 291
Chapter 26 For All Mankind 317
Part 7 Icon
Chapter 27 Standing Ground 333
Chapter 28 To Engineer Is Human 342
Chapter 29 Dark Side of the Moon 350
Chapter 30 Into the Heartland 363
Acknowledgments 391
Bibliography 395
Notes on Sources 417
Index 419