Witness to History, Engineer to the Future, Excels in Adversity, August 30, 2005| Reviewer: |
Dr. Stephen A. Pulley (Valley Forge, PA) - See all my reviews |
I found his writing style to be grittier (that is a positive comment), highlighted by the italicized side comments. I found this to be intriguing especially since he then retrospectively judged the key moments in his life. This would be similar to a person's writing in a journal to help them make sense of the world. I also took the opportunity to read Gene Kranz's book after I read Apollo EECOM and found that book to be an excellent companion and contrast. First, he is also talking about same events from within the same room, just with a different perspective. He also writes (I am sure with his coauthor's assistance), in a grammatically technical writer's way. I liked both writing styles (Liebergot's and Kranz's) very much. He also brings in Sy's involvements, again from his perspective, which dovetails nicely with the recollections in this book. Not that it was needed, it also validates Sy's version of the time. The fact that Kranz mentioned the song included on the CD-ROM made me chuckle (and I hope he gets to hear it again to make him cringe).
The sequence of his life's story is a fascinating portrayal of excelling in the face of adversity. He and his siblings had a horrible family life compounded by the economics of the times. I suspect it was the resultant aversion that pushed him all the way to California away from family and onto a path that lead to his involvement with one of the greatest endeavors man has achieved so far. While he may not be happy with individual moments in his life, as a sum, possibly with the help of the book, I believe he realizes that it has been a good life. The zenith of the human experience is when man takes tragedy and is able to look past it to convert it into something positive and fulfilling. That is the essence of Sy Liebergot's life. He chose to rise above his predicament. There are many, many people who would do well to learn from his example. In looking at his life and story, I am reminded of another book and movie, namely "Rocket Boys"/"October Sky". The difference is the extreme dysfunctionality of his home life and degree of poverty.
Equally fascinating was the accompanying CD-ROM with Mission Control voice loops from the Apollo 13 explosion timeframe. These alone would justify an interested person's purchase of the book. First, I related to the working of the problem. I get very ill, very complicated patients in my emergency department. The underlying problem is unknown. I start taking a series of actions lead by priorities and try to gain more information to better define the problem altering actions as the situation evolves. This can take anywhere from one to three hours. Sometimes the patients don't make it. Most of the time I get them stabilized and out of the department. It was this same process that I "witnessed" through the voice loops. The other perspective was that of the actual time of the unfolding crisis. Other writings, and the movie, give the impression that it was a very short time (15 minutes or so) before the lifesaving critical move to the LEM. The voice loops show that it was well over an hour.
Even though the Apollo program was 30 plus years ago, the fact that we haven't even gone back continues the weight of its accomplishments. I feel that the loss of continuity and the perspective of history and experience will severely impact the strides that we have yet to make. Works such as this one should be mandatory reading for our future space pioneers so that they will gain that needed perspective. Hopefully, it won't take an Armageddon level event to spawn the next great space engineering race.
The book and CD put you in Apollo 13 mission control, December 27, 2004| Reviewer: |
Neil Mavis (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews |
Sy provides history as to how he became a flight controller, and how his fellow controllers lived during the Apollo program days.
If you want to know what it's like to get to and be inside mission control, and actually hear what the mission control audio loops sounds like, this is a must-get book and CD package.
Worthwhile Different Point of View on Apollo Era NASA, December 23, 2004
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Ronald Brown "rboffp" (Florham Park, NJ USA) - See all my reviews |
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, Simply Brilliant. ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤, September 2, 2004
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Michael Esslinger (Carmel, CA USA) - See all my reviews |
Sy's book is in my opinion is a sobering and paramount account of the early manned space flight program from an important and vital perspective. It is a true archive of history that is told not only through narrative, illustrations, and photographs; but rather a historical archive containing audio (which is included on a wonderful CD-ROM), personal artifacts, and technical examples (brilliant panel displays) that bring this history to life. Having spent decades reading every account I can get my hands on, I can safely state that Sy's memoir will remain a solid bookend to one of America's greatest chapters in history.
A great, personal insight., January 3, 2004
Reviewer: A reader
This book isn't one of those thick, literary historical tomes that we have seen a good many of in the last few years from former NASA managers. Rather, this feels like you have been personally invited into Sy's living room to sit on the sofa and look over his memorabilia while he tells you about it over your shoulder. It's a surprisingly frank and honest look at his life. Rather than trying to build himself up to be an historical figure, he pulls no punches with an account of a difficult, scrappy early life where he had to learn to survive his family, then work out how to leave and make something of himself. He tells this compelling story so well that I would have read it even if he had not gone on to join NASA - something I also felt when reading Scott Carpenter's account of his difficult upbringing in his recent memoir. When Liebergot moves on to his years at NASA, we get a refreshingly different account of how things worked there. Most other books on this era have been written by those in the upper echelons of management, but Liebergot here shows us what it was like for the footsoldier in the trenches, with a few little accounts of tempers lost in mission control and other disagreements that the official histories try and gloss over. Rather than do this as a tell-all, Liebergot includes his own failings in the mix - he doesn't hide the fact that he is now on his third marriage, nor the reasons. Liebergot was there for some of NASA's finest undertakings, and this book tells you what it was like from a human perspective - the weariness, the shortcomings, the oversights - that round out the picture very well.
In short, this is not a polished history of NASA at its finest hour. Rather it is a very loose, informal journey through one man's difficult life, and how he managed to wash up in the right place at the right time.
Disappointed, January 2, 2004| Reviewer: | Mark G. Walker (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews |
The CD is Amazing, November 13, 2003
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Robert I. Hedges (Burnsville, MN USA) - See all my reviews |
I am amazed by the hardships that Sy overcame and my hat is off to him for that, I just wish that his first book had focused more on Apollo and EECOM duties (after all, the title is 'Apollo EECOM') and less on his personal tribulations.
There is one incredibly redeeming feature of the book, though, and it is the enclosed CD, which is a series of recordings of the EECOM loop during the Apollo 13 near disaster as well as some Apollo 15 audio and a spoof song for the post Apollo 13 party.
Overall, a good book, but the CD alone is worth the cost!
Insightful insiders look inside the Apollo program, November 6, 2003| Reviewer: | James E. Volberding (Lincoln, MT United States) - See all my reviews |
An essential Apollo Book, October 5, 2003
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Dr. Eric M. Jones (Wodonga, Victoria, Australia) - See all my reviews |
Another biography, June 24, 2003
| Reviewer: | Saturn V (Bensenville, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews |
Gave some background information on the life and times of a flight controller, some of which is not found elsewhere.
This is filled with his opinions on others, but what the heck, it is his book.
Sy does face considerable challenges in his life and ends up in a much better place than one would have expected.
It is a quick read and again, gives some background on the space story from another who lived it.
Succes Inspite of a Rocky Start, June 23, 2003
Sy kept the reader interested throughout the book by his fluid style, changing the chronology, inter dispersing related pictures to the topic at hand and above all by the story of his incredible life. He tells a story of how in spite of a traumatic and difficult childhood, it is possible to rise above it and become a valuable and contributing member of the society. This should be a required reading for all high school kids as it inspires and teaches accountability and tenacity in face of adversity while at the same time it teaches us about part of our history in America. After listening to the CD, what I found amazing was how cool and in control Sy sounded while trying to save the lives of the astronauts and bringing them safely back to earth. Even though Sy has every right to take credit for helping with the safe return of Apollo 13, he is not using this book as a self-promoting vehicle rather; he is portraying an honest picture of what happened while giving credit to the team as well as the individuals comprising that team and how they contributed to the success of our space program. Although I have known Sy for many years, he did not share the Apollo 13 story with me until many years later and now after reading this book, I realize how humble he has been all these years and how he is entitled to brag about all the accomplishments in his life. I have always thought of Sy as a renaissance man - he has in-depth knowledge of many subjects and when he sets out to learn something, he becomes a master at it - this book certainly proved what I have known all along. I have always been proud of Sy and now after reading his book, Apollo EECOM - Journey of a Lifetime, I feel lucky to have been his friend for all these years. S.Miles Succes Inspite of a Rocky Start, June 23, 2003
Sy kept the reader interested throughout the book by his fluid style, changing the chronology, inter dispersing related pictures to the topic at hand and above all by the story of his incredible life. He tells a story of how in spite of a traumatic and difficult childhood, it is possible to rise above it and become a valuable and contributing member of the society. This should be a required reading for all high school kids as it inspires and teaches accountability and tenacity in face of adversity while at the same time it teaches us about part of our history in America. After listening to the CD, what I found amazing was how cool and in control Sy sounded while trying to save the lives of the astronauts and bringing them safely back to earth. Even though Sy has every right to take credit for helping with the safe return of Apollo 13, he is not using this book as a self-promoting vehicle rather; he is portraying an honest picture of what happened while giving credit to the team as well as the individuals comprising that team and how they contributed to the success of our space program. Although I have known Sy for many years, he did not share the Apollo 13 story with me until many years later and now after reading this book, I realize how humble he has been all these years and how he is entitled to brag about all the accomplishments in his life. I have always thought of Sy as a renaissance man - he has in-depth knowledge of many subjects and when he sets out to learn something, he becomes a master at it - this book certainly proved what I have known all along. I have always been proud of Sy and now after reading his book, Apollo EECOM - Journey of a Lifetime, I feel lucky to have been his friend for all these years. Suzan Miles EECOM-the real story, June 23, 2003
of Apollo this is it. He tells his real story, warts and all. Technical enough that you are able to understand what it was all about and able to follow what was happening. The enclosed CD was especially important. I understood for the first time everyone's job by hearing them in the "loop". It was interesting to see what happened in the end of Apollo, and how far away the space program has gotten from where it started.I liked this book because of his real observations,not the usual sugarcoating we sometimes get in these kinds of books.
The simulations shake you up, they leave you humbled and weak in the knees and in many cases you can be caught short if not prepared, Sy captures this an more in the Apollo missions and Skylab. His skills and resources are many and it leaves the readers with the feeling that the Apollo Astronauts were indeed riding on the shoulders of giants. They work hard and play hard, the behind the scenes looks at the post flight debriefs at the Singing Wheel were well documented with pictures where these guys in the dark rimmed glasses unwound. The indeed drank the wine and beer as fast as it was served. The families were tested there were many that were torn apart as the ultimate sacrifice for the missions to the moon, Sy captures it all in his book and CD ROM. This is a great story of the men and women behind the scenes in the trenches of the historic moon missions, an effort that may never be duplicated. It is an inspiration to the young readers out there who want to become part of this magnificent team. |