The Astronaut Wives Club : : a True Story

Locations
Call Number: 629.45 Ko, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Science & Technology / Koppel, Lily
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	629.45 Ko	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	629.45 Ko	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	629.45 Ko	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Science & Technology / Koppel, Lily	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Introducing the wives -- Think pink -- The cookies -- Jackie -- Primly stable -- Squaresville -- Space City, U.S.A. -- The galaxy ball -- Togethersville -- The astro-pageant -- The lemon -- Women's lib -- Susie -- The dark side of the Moon -- The giant leap -- Everywoman.
"As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. They had tea with Jackie Kennedy, appeared on the cover of Life magazine, and quickly grew into fashion icons. Annie Glenn, with her picture-perfect marriage, was the envy of the other wives; platinum-blonde Rene Carpenter was proclaimed JFK's favorite; and licensed pilot Trudy Cooper arrived on base with a secret. Together with the other wives they formed the Astronaut Wives Club, meeting regularly to provide support and friendship. Many became next-door neighbors and helped to raise each other's children by day, while going to glam parties at night. As their celebrity rose-and as divorce and tragic death began to touch their lives-they continued to rally together, and the wives have now been friends for more than fifty years. THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB tells the real story of the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history"-- Provided by publisher.
"Bestselling author Lily Koppel reveals for the first time the stories and secrets of America's unsung heroes-the wives of our original astronauts"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Entertaining, but uncomfortable with "research" style submitted by Juliettie on August 19, 2013, 10:10pm A really entertaining read...kind of like watching Dallas or Dynasty or some other more sophisticated soap opera. Nothing it in was truly surprising...most of the philandering was pretty well documented in earlier accounts like THE RIGHT STUFF. What nagged at me was the lack of attribution to most events and opinions. If the author interviewed the wives, why couldn't she say, "Annie Glenn felt that..." etc. Maybe some of it was just the collective opinion of most wives, but most just felt to me like it needed some attribution. Still, a fun, if not sometimes uncomfortable book to read (I felt sorry for the wives most of the time...they had a tough row to hoe!).

Interesting stories submitted by wendylv on July 2, 2014, 8:31am In a more capable author's hands, this story could have been much more compelling. The storytelling arc was a little hard to follow and I needed a more complete scorecard to keep track of who was who. We heard Joan Aldrin's version of the post-Moon-landing world tour (or dog and pony show as Buzz called it) but where were the stories of Janet Armstrong or Pat Collins who were also on the tour? I thought the most interesting part of the book was the evolution of the wives alongside the feminist movement in America at the time. The wives started out stereotypical 50's housewives who were expected to fulfill their patriotic duty and create the perfect, stress-free home life for their mostly-absent, workaholic, sometimes-philandering husbands. Rene Carpenter and Betty Grissom were the most interesting examples of women who broke out of the mold and created their own lives for themselves.

Disappointing submitted by cjkoho on July 25, 2014, 2:58pm There are too many astronaut wives. That's my take away from this book. I wanted more in depth stories on each wife, but I got hors d'oeuvres instead. Part of the problem is that NASA added so many new astronauts so quickly that we never really got to know them as individuals. Great insight into what happened to their lives when this opportunity was presented, but it's really a book about the "club" and not the wives.

interesting but a bit shallow submitted by airgood on August 6, 2014, 12:08pm I liked the subject of this book and found it to be pretty interesting overall. The writing isn't particularly superb and I found myself wanting to know way more than she provided. This is partially a function of the many wives that are discussed. Still a neat look at this aspect of American history!

Loved this book submitted by Lmd3577 on June 12, 2015, 9:29am this book is a great read it takes you back to the golden age of the space program. I felt as I was one of the wives myself experiencing every emotion they were expreiencing. I am a real fan of the space program and the book captured what it was like to live in the fishbowl know as the AWC. this is well worth the read.

Enjoyable submitted by Zekicmom on July 19, 2015, 10:20pm I think all I really knew about the early years of NASA was from the movie "Apollo 13", so this was an interesting read even if just for the history. The "stand by your man" world that these women lived in seems so alien today. I had a little trouble keeping track of everyone, but the book was an easy, quick read, and I enjoyed it.