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Wolfe's 1979 volume chronicled the handful of adrenaline-junkie military test pilots who became the Mercury astronauts. Their story is juxtaposed against that of Chuck Yeager, the ace of aces pilot who broke the sound barrier but couldn't apply to the space program because he lacked a college degree. Wolfe also provides insight into the political motivations for the space race and the paranoia of the Cold War. A terrific read from beginning to end, and, unlike Bonfire above, the film version is fabulous (make sure to have it in your DVD collection). (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

In a 1960s New Journalism style, colloquial and hyperkinetic, Wolfe tells the public and private stories of the first American astronauts how they were selected, trained, and shot into space and how their combination of talent, ambition, and daring made them instant heroes. Also by Wolfe: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968). (O 15 79 Adult)