Description
Book Synopsis“An exciting insider’s look at Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo . . . NASA’s internal politics, disasters, glitches and close calls” by a pioneering astronaut (Publishers Weekly). Gordon “Gordo” Cooper was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, pilot for Apollo X, head of flight crew operations for the United States’ first orbiting space station, and the last American to venture into space alone. Stretching from the dawning days of NASA to the far reaches of the unknown, Cooper’s distinguished career as a record-setting astronaut helped shape America’s space program and blazed a trail for generations to come.
In this astonishing memoir—written with #1
New York Times bestseller Bruce Henderson—Cooper crosses paths with such aviation luminaries as Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post, and German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun; he shares his early days at Edwards Air Force Base and the endeavors that became the basis for
The Right Stuff; he takes us inside NASA with candid accounts of his defeats and accomplishments; he reflects on the triumphs and tragedies of his heroic colleagues; and he finally reveals the reasons behind his belief in extraterrestrial intelligence, including the US military’s long-standing UFO cover-ups.
Buckle yourself in for a breathtaking ride because in
Leap of Faith, Gordon Cooper takes readers to places they’ve never been before.
Trade Review“For ages, man had dreamed of traveling to the moon. In
Leap of Faith, Gordon Cooper tells the remarkable and interesting story of how it was accomplished.” —
Des Moines Register “[Cooper] draws on his background as an astronaut to bolster his persuasively argued position that, whatever UFO’s may actually be, a policy of cover-up and obfuscation isn’t going to help turn them into IFO’s—identified flying objects. Full of tasty nuggets for space and ufology buffs.” —
Booklist Table of Contents
- Dedication
- Prologue
- 1 We Seven
- 2 Liftoff
- 3 Bringing Her Home
- 4 “Gordon Cooper’s UFOs”
- 5 Amelia, Pancho, and Dad
- 6 Back to Space
- 7 Cosmonauts and Deepest Africa
- 8 “Our Germans Are Better Than Their Germans”
- 9 “There’s a Fire in Here!”
- 10 Reaching the Moon and Losing Mars
- 11 Stumbling Across History
- 12 UFOs at the United Nations
- 13 Flying Saucers: Made in the USA
- 14 Help From the Cosmos?
- 15 The Space Shuttle Transmission
- 16 Tesla: Twentieth-Century Genius
- 17 Reservation for an Alien Saucer Ride
- 18 Windows in Time and Space
- Epilogue
- Farewell to a Buddy
- Image Gallery
- Index
- About the Authors
