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A review by allynfolksjr
We Seven: By the Astronauts Themselves by John Glenn, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Wally Schirra, Virgil I. Grissom, Alan Shepard, Scott Carpenter, Donald K. Slayton
2.0
An astronomy professor once told me that "there's a reason astronauts aren't writers." We Seven feels like a book that was rushed to press to quell an insatiable thirst for knowledge about the Mercury program and the men behind it. Writing styles vary, but generally hue fairly closely to the kind of writing former test pilots would create.
Buried in the book are a few snippets of personality, a modicum of new and interesting facts about Mercury, and a smattering of sentimentality, but it's not a compelling package.
With hindsight, the characters in the book are slightly more interesting. Deke Slayton's grounding is scarcely mentioned. Scott Carpenter is quickly removed from the program. Wally Schirra is denied the moon after an infamous "bitch fest" aboard Apollo 7. Poignantly, Gus Grissom later dies in the Apollo 1 fire.
Michael Collins' [b:Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journey|612456|Carrying the Fire An Astronaut's Journey|Michael Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347311290s/612456.jpg|598913] is still the only book written by an astronaut of this era worth reading.
Buried in the book are a few snippets of personality, a modicum of new and interesting facts about Mercury, and a smattering of sentimentality, but it's not a compelling package.
With hindsight, the characters in the book are slightly more interesting. Deke Slayton's grounding is scarcely mentioned. Scott Carpenter is quickly removed from the program. Wally Schirra is denied the moon after an infamous "bitch fest" aboard Apollo 7. Poignantly, Gus Grissom later dies in the Apollo 1 fire.
Michael Collins' [b:Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journey|612456|Carrying the Fire An Astronaut's Journey|Michael Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347311290s/612456.jpg|598913] is still the only book written by an astronaut of this era worth reading.