Before This Decade Is Out: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program

Customer Reviews:

The Oral History of Project Apollo.......2004-06-29

This book emerged out of the activities at NASA in 1999 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. As the chief historian of NASA at the time I saw the anniversary looming before us like a freight train bearing down on a deer crossing. I knew it would consume the history function, but I also wanted to use the anniversary to gain support for substantive history projects. This was one of several publications that were completed using resources made available because of the anniversary, and I am quite pleased with the result. The book was originally published through the Government Printing Office as NASA Special Publication-4223 in 1999, and received the Pendleton Prize for best documentary work from the Society for History in the Federal Government. We later negotiated its reprinting in paperback from the University Press of Florida.

Glen E. Swanson, then the historian at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, included in this work fourteen interviews that sweep the broad expanse of the history of Apollo. It includes some of the most well-known people in the history of spaceflight, such as Wernher von Braun and Moon-walkers Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmidt, as well as some folks who have escaped the spotlight, such as Geneva Barnes who helped the Apollo 11 crew on their worldwide goodwill tour after their mission. It also includes some unsung, but nonetheless significant figures. My favorite example is Robert Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (renamed the Johnson Space Center in 1973) and without question the godfather to the astronauts. All of the interviews published here, by both well-known and lesser-known figures are excellently edited and made available in a very accessible text.

Glen Swanson had literally hundreds of interviews from which to choose, for NASA has been sponsoring oral histories of its personnel for decades. "Life" magazine writer Robert Sherrod, who had intended to write a book on Apollo, moreover, conducted some of those included. He never completed the book, but he donated all of his research material to the NASA History Office and it is a treasure trove useful to anyone interested in Apollo. His copies of documents and oral histories have a prized place in the NASA collection. And anyone may use them at any time. In addition, the Johnson Space Center has sponsored an oral history program for many years and has a wealth of materials from which Swanson drew the best. Other collections of oral histories also reside at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, where it went when I left NASA in 2002. These collections made it possible for this book to be published. There is also grist for similar oral history treatments of other NASA programs contained in these rich collections. For anyone who might have an interest in the NASA oral history program I wrote the following article on the subject that you may want to review, "`We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming': NASA, Oral History, and the Contemporary Past," Oral History Review 30 (Summer/Fall 2003): 111-28.

Swanson provided a biographical sketch before each interview included in this book, with details about its origins, dates, interviewers, and where one might consult the original document. I tried to provide some historical context on the Apollo program in an introduction. We then compiled an annotated bibliography on the program to aid in further reading. Always, we sought to bring to life the history of what was arguably humanity's great voyage of discovery.

I believe Swanson succeeded admirably in his task. I also believe that anyone interested in the history of spaceflight or in oral history as a methodology will find this an engaging and helpful book.

I agree with John Keller.......2004-04-03

John has written the first review of this book. It says alot of what I was thinking while reading this myself. Many of these people have passed away or are getting up there in years. (No offense to those still "young" Apollo participants who may read this!) I wanted to hear more from some of them: Bob Gilruth, Max Faget.
As John had pointed out, the bibliography is an excellent resource for additional books. I have aquired and have read most of them. Many of the people interviewed for this book have never been mentioned. That's what makes this a good read. (The NASA publications are particularly good for technical stuff.)
A very worthwhile read as it does tell, in limited detail, the parts that these folks played.
I only hope that many others get an opportunity to contribute their historys as well.

A Collection of Interviews from the Apollo Moon Mission Era.......2002-06-29

This book, originally publishing in 1999 as NASA Special Publication, SP-4223, contains fourteen interviews from various people who describe their activities at NASA during the Apollo era. These interviews cover the entire spectrum of people involved in this project, from flight controllers, the top management, two astronauts and even a secretary. More than half the people interviewed for this book have never published anything which recounts their times at NASA, so this book maybe the only source to find such information. This book made me realize that many of the people involved in the Apollo project have passed away and soon the only link to this amazing adventure will be these types of historical records. While I'm not a big fan of books that simply publish interviews, I found this book to be very easy to read and high enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a more behind the scenes look at the moon landing effort or who wants to see a more personal side to NASA.

The interviews contained in the book are as follows, James Webb (NASA Administrator), Thomas O. Paine (NASA Administrator), Wernher von Braun (Rocket Genius and Marshall Space Flight Center Director), Bob Gilruth (Manned Spaceflight Center Director), George E. Mueller (Associate Administrator of Manned Spaceflight), Gene Kranz (Flight Director), Arthur Rogers (Director of Stennis Space Center), James Guin (Rocket Engine Test Engineer), Glynn Lunney (Flight Director), Geneva Barnes (Secretary in Public Affairs Office), Charlie Duke (Astronaut), Harrison Schmitt (Astronaut), George M. Low (Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office), and Max Faget (Spacecraft Designer/Engineer).

One added bonus is that the book contains an annotated bibliography of the Apollo Project which lists approximately 35 books, some of which are quite technical and others which are simply astronaut biographies.

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"Before This Decade Is Out ...": Personal Reflections On The Apollo Program. (Book Reviews).(Review): An article from: The Oral History Review
C. Christine Ruffo
Manufacturer: Oral History Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008IHDQ8
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Oral History Review, published by Oral History Association on June 22, 2001. The length of the article is 782 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: "Before This Decade Is Out ...": Personal Reflections On The Apollo Program. (Book Reviews).(Review)
Author: C. Christine Ruffo
Publication: The Oral History Review (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2001
Publisher: Oral History Association
Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Page: 149(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Before This Decade Is Out...: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program

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Before This Decade Is Out...: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program
Glen E. Swanson
Manufacturer: United States Government Printing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJN2IO

Customer Reviews:

only found one item that needs corrected.......2001-04-17

On page 24 the book indicates that Baseketball was Dale's silver screen debut however it was in Stroker Ace in 1983 that Dale did his first cameo. Just a small oversight I am shure but I found the book to be a must to complete my collection

A true Champion.......2001-04-10

This book talks and shows how Dale Earnhardt really is. A true champion in his sport, and in his private life as well. No one can compare to the way he was on or off the track, and no one ever will. this book is a great addition to any and all nascar collection one my have. don't let this book pass you by. get it while the getting is still good.

Dale Earnhardt: Remembering the Intimidator

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Dale Earnhardt: Remembering the Intimidator

Manufacturer: DH Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Motor Sports | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1553586042

Book Description

This collection of essays offers a view of Nazi Germany through ananalysis of twenty films, representing a sampling of the period'sdirectors and reflecting the film medium's major genres. In spite ofthe control that Goebbels's film industry exercised over all aspects offilmmaking in the Third Reich, the films reveal an individuality thatbelies subsuming them under any one rubric or containing them within anyone theory. Films such as Hitlerjunge Quex, Die groe Liebe, andAuf Wiedersehen Franziska represent the Nazi film industry'sefforts to propagandize through entertainment. Others such asImmensee, Kleider machen Leute, and Der Schimmelreiterreveal an attempt to expropriate Germany's rich literary past for theregime. These literary adaptations and films like Glückskinder, LaHabanera, and Der Kaiser von Kalifornien today seem void ofNazi ideology if viewed outside the context of Nazism. But another film,Der ewige Jude, shocks us with its virulent anti-Semitism andhateful propaganda almost sixty years after its release. All of the films treated, regardless of their fame or notoriety or the level ofcommitment of their directors to the Nazi cause, played an importantrole in a cinema that not only represents the dreams and lives of thecitizens of the Third Reich, but influenced them as well.Robert C.Reimer is professor of German at the University of North Carolina,Charlotte.

Book Description

A fabulously fun collection of spirited stories, scintillating sidebars, and oh-so-quotable quips, It's a Chick Thing pays homage to the special and unique times that strengthen the bonds of female friendships---the antics, escapades, and thrill seeking---as well as the loyalty, sisterly support, and irrepressible humor.

Read about Dolly Parton's "biker chick" escapades with her girlfriend gang, Hell's Belles; Diana and Fergie's hilarious night on the town during Prince Andrew's bachelor party; and the time Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn faced down the Coal Miner's Daughter's detractors. Meet women like Cirque du Chien, a pack of party-loving Francophiles who dress up like French poodles; La Bella Mafia, self-proclaimed divas who right wrongs and overdress for every occasion; and a bevy of sisters and friends who take over the backyard playhouse for parties and girl talk. Full of irreverent fun, candid observations, and shameless merrymaking, It's a Chick Thing is the perfect gift for each and every one of your best gal pals. Chickcentric lists include "Chicks Who Rock," "Chick Reads," "Chick Flicks," and "Chick Cliques." "Wonderful - a must read for all women of substance!" - Jill Conner Browne, author of The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love"Smart. Sassy. Tons of Fun. It's a Chick Thing is my new best friend," says Cameron Tuttle, author of The Bad Girl's Guide to the Open Road.

Customer Reviews:

A fun but tame book.......2005-08-26

This book is a fun read but the stories are fairly tame.
There were a few really touching or funny stories (I loved the "cheeky chicks" chapter.) but I have done much wilder things with my friends.

i laughed out loud!.......2004-04-30

I loved this book! It was funny, witty and reminded me of all of my girlfriends! Can't wait for the new one!!!!

Loved It.......2004-04-16

I laughed, smiled and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I hope there's many more "Chick" books to come!

It's a Chick Thing.......2004-04-13

My family enjoyed this book and hope there are more to come.

Buy two & give one to a friend.......2004-04-13

Based on Wendy Block's review, I'd guess that she hasn't had a date since some dweeb stood her up at her High School Prom. Get a life honey! This is a book that's lots of fun -- and I'm not even a chick (I borrowed my wife's copy).

Customer Reviews:

Miffy Likes To.......2001-06-27

is a good book, but far from being one of Bruna's best. It is not as conceptually interesting as his Miffy's Birthday (a jigsaw book printed in the UK) or What Time Is It, and the printing job is less impressive than his flip book series.

Book Description

The breakthrough approach for aligning people with strategy for higher profits

Organizations that select, develop, deploy, manage, and motivate their people to produce outstanding business results have an extraordinary competitive advantage that others can't copy. Backed by Mercer's nine-year, $10 million study of leading companies around the world, Play to Your Strengths shows how to leverage a company's human capital strategy into business results that are measurable and profitable and that will create exceptional, enduring competitive advantages.

This bottom-line-boosting guide gives managers, senior executives, and consultants the theory, tools, and processes they need to:

Measure the effects of people on business results
Determine the impact of strategies before making them
Focus on the organization's most effective people strategies
Deliver more money to the bottom line in a sustainable manner
Create enduring, copy-proof competitive advantages

Customer Reviews:

~How~ people contribute to performance ... MBA must-read!.......2004-04-21

The term "human capital management" has stepped into the long line of buzzwords that attempt to leverage people into increased organizational performance. Play to Your Strengths takes a step beyond the rhetoric to actually explore "how" to accomplish this. From their 3 critical questions -- led by "what are we spending on human capital (cost) and what is it buying us(value)?" -- to their six-factor framework defining human capital, the authors give insight into how organizations should measure the contribution of people to a company's bottom line. They also provide real company examples and perspectives from investors, CEOs, and managers.

As a professor of business management, I've found that one of the most difficult challenges is helping students to learn how they can actually make good decisions in deploying personnel. This book goes beyond the "soft" side of management, developing an approach that fits with the organizational imperative to heed the bottom line. I'll be using Play to Your Strengths as supplemental reading for my MBA courses.

Science, art, or a new lable for an old management tool?.......2003-10-20

Whenever guru-accented statements like "leveraging human capital to produce results" I feel a quiver, not of excitement, but of caution. However, management trainees and schools like label-accented seminars and books, so this title, Play to Your Strengths, isn't anything that will offend anyone.
People are generally any company's core area asset. Despite the company's product, service, busines strategy, market share and management structure and reorganizations,it's people who ultimately make the differnce. People who are at the top, bottom, and between.
Apparently, this book is backed by a $10 million study. Hopefully, it was money well-spent. Human capital, in all of its forms - internal, external, management, labor and regulatory, is vital to understand, to appreciate, and to show appreciation for. As well, in today's world, the ethical element of conducting business is one that needs to be mentioned more often.
Frank G Anderson
MBA, Information Management
Korat, Thailand
Tel. 044-274972
mobile: 01-8773981

Play to Your Strengths: new book encourages tactical approach to HR management.(Play to Your Strengths: Managing Your Internal Labor Markets for Lasting ... Review): An article from: CMA Management

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Play to Your Strengths: new book encourages tactical approach to HR management.(Play to Your Strengths: Managing Your Internal Labor Markets for Lasting ... Review): An article from: CMA Management
Chris Cunnington
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from CMA Management, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1117 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Play to Your Strengths: new book encourages tactical approach to HR management.(Play to Your Strengths: Managing Your Internal Labor Markets for Lasting Competitive Advantage)(Book Review)
Author: Chris Cunnington
Publication: CMA Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2003
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 77 Issue: 7 Page: 44(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Lady Hyegyong's memoirs, which recount the chilling murder of her husband by his father, is one of the best known and most popular classics of Korean literature. From 1795 until 1805 Lady Hyegyong composed this masterpiece, which depicts a court life whose drama and pathos is of Shakespearean proportions. Presented in its social, cultural, and historical contexts, this first complete English translation opens a door into a world teeming with conflicting passions, political intrigue, and the daily preoccupations of a deeply intelligent and articulate woman.
JaHyun Kim Haboush's accurate, fluid translation captures the intimate and expressive voice of this consummate storyteller. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong is a unique exploration of Korean selfhood and of how the genre of autobiography fared in premodern times.

Customer Reviews:

memoirs of lady hyegyong- interesting.......2007-02-23

an interesting book. It makes the writings of a crown princess more informative and intense. I would recommend this book but readers might want to read a simpler version. The book is a little messy and isn't in the form of the beginning of the story to the end. Bits and pieces are told in different chapters.

Overall, an interesting story.

A compelling time travel.......2007-01-23

Beyond the scholarly merit and historical significance of this book, the story is hugely compelling, not merely for the facts of the chilling event, but for several other reasons.

First, the view Lady Hyegyong provides of the court life and the strict Confucian beliefs that hinge on filial piety, loyalty, virtue and honor is evident more in what she doesn't say than what is said. It's a growing subtle presentation of how life unfolded within these confines of faith, and as a result, how tragedy after tragedy continued to compound. One could read the Analects or any Neo-Confucian work, and not understand to the degree shown here the depths of the practice and belief that affected every aspect of life in the late Choson era.

Second, along with JaHyun Kim Haboush's careful introduction, the annotations she has so helpfully added, the glossaries and appendices, the book presents a highly respectful translation that brings forth all the humanity of the players in a way that makes the story unfold like a novel of hope, horror, survival and the desire for inner peace and heavenly redemption.

Third, by providing the historical literary context of these MEMOIRS (in the introduction), we benefit from understanding not only the historical events but the tense cultural climate and the severe limitations that Lady Hyegyong had to challenge and overcome in order to redeem the honor of her family. Almost as a self-reflective postmodern work of existentialism, the book stands as its own redemptive testament to its themes.

To read of this historical event from one who suffered in its aftermath, and who despite the strictures of her sex and position could tell of it with artistry, is an amazing literary experience.

Good but somethings could have been better organized.......2005-03-17

I think Haboush was trying to adhere to the original piece how the Crown prince wrote it but the sequence of events perhaps could have been ordered better? Because they are divided into 4 sections and each memoir tells the same story in different perspective and you have to go back.

Also some of the Korean names and terms I would have liked to have seen them typed both in Korean as well. It was had to make out what it meant.

It clarified, especially the last memoir (1805) how and why Sado seja was killed. History often sites that It was his father's extreme dislike for that drove to it. He could not have been disposed because there would have been factions that would try to put him back up on the throne.

The Korean Hamlet.......2001-01-21

"The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong" is actually four different works written by one woman, a circumspect, scrupulous, unfortunate 18th Century Korean aristocrat. The memoirs are, successively, a family injunction, a memorial, a biography, and a historiography. At the center of the collection sits Hong Hyegyong and her husband, Crown Prince Sado. "The Memoirs" span the reigns of Yongjo, Chongjo, and Sunjo, and the careers of Lady Hyegyong's father, Hong Ponghan, and her older brothers.

Lady Hong Hyegyong was the wife of Crown Prince Sado, who in 1762, was ordered by his father, King Yongjo, to step into a rice chest, which was susequently bound and covered in sod. Crown Prince Sado had been punished by his father for a series of heinous murders caused by Sado's mental illness. Lady Hyegyong and her family, including her son, the future King Chongjo, then became the focal point of factional quarrels at court, each side using the execution of the Crown Prince, to its own political advantage.

Lady Hyegyong, in the first three memoirs, strives to defend her father and brothers against chages of treason and complicity in Sado's execution. The last memoir is a defense of her husband. All four are addressed to her grandson, King Sunjo, to restore the honor of her family.

Although Lady Hyegyong nor Haboush could ascertain the specific cause of Crown Prince Sado's illness, and Lady Hyegyong's anecdotal evidence is hardly scientific, I would like to offer ''hwabyong'', or, in Korean, ''fire disease'' or ''anger disease''. ''Hwabyong'', as offered by Alford in "Think No Evil: Korean Values In The Age Of Globalization" (see review), is ''...a unique Korean folk syndrome...'' characterized by ''...anxiety, panic,...and the suppression of anger...'' (p. 77). Korean fire disease's ''...symptoms reflect[s] the constraints of the culture: not just on the expression of of emotion, but the lack of opportunity...to change...''(p. 79). Only Crown Prince Sado,and the evidence offered in "The Memoir of 1805", can affirm this conjecture.

The last work, "The Memoir of 1805", is a brilliant psychological portrait of Crown Prince Sado. It is a revealing exercise in historical writing, and also reveals the mind of an extraordinary woman trying to understand some of the most harrowing personal tragedies any spouse or daughter might face.

"The Memoirs" can be compared to Lady Murasaki Shikibu's "The Tale of Genji", "Hamlet", and the lives of the Roman Emperors. One major failing of Haboush's''Introduction'' is, that she does not place the incidents in a broader historical and international context. But she does manage to argue against abridging and collecting each work into a longer historical novel. A broader focus would further aid in understanding Lady Hyegyong's dedication in defense of her brothers and father.

This is not only a valuable history, but it is also another demonstration of the narrative powers of Asian women authors operating in a patriarchical, almost misogynistic, culture.

an interesting view of Court life in ancient Korea.......2000-11-24

Lady Hyegyong was the crown princess of the Korean court in the 18th century. That is until her husband, crown prince Sado was killed at his father's orders.

This book is an excellent translation by the author of Lady Hyegyong's memoirs. They are a unique historical document. They are also the first true autobiographical writings by a woman to come out of Korea.

The translator has used the earliest versions of these memoirs available to base his translation (oddly enough these are found in the USA, not Korea - the koreans must be annoyed over this!)

The memoirs were acutally written in 4 parts and the translator has preserved this breakage. In many ways the first part (written in 1795) and the last part (written in 1805) are the most interesting sections of this book. The first memoir movingly depicts the author being chosen as wife to the crown prince and her distress at her success. The middle memoris of 1801 & 1802 cover much of what is in the 1795 section. These mostly elaborate on themes in the earlier one, and are principly a justification/explantion of her families 'bad luck' over the years and why it is her fault. It also brings home the old saying that "power corrupts - absoult power corrupts absolutly".

The last part, written in 1805 descibes the events leading up to her husbands death. It is written with great character insight and is of great historical value. The writer was obviously a lady of intelligence.

This book only gets 3 stars, because while it is interesting, the middle section of the book is quite slow to get through because it is so repetitive. Parts 1 & 4 offer the real vale here. I'm suprised no-one has written a novel of this ladies life with this great source material.

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The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong: the Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-Century Korea (Hardcover)
Jahyun Kim Haboush
Manufacturer: California
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KHD1J0

Book Description

The dramatic increase since the 1980s in the global prevalence of tuberculosis, a disease destined as recently as thirty years ago for complete eradication, is a story of medical failure. A pandemic whose geography defies simple categorization—it ranges from schools in the UK to prisons in Russia, from refugee camps in central Africa to affluent suburbs in North America—the 'new' tuberculosis is derived from a combination of different developments such as collapsing health-care services, shifting patterns of poverty and inequality, the spread of HIV, and the emergence of virulent drug-resistant strains.

This collection provides an international survey of current thought on the spread and control of tuberculosis, covering historical, social, political, and medical aspects. While the contributors may differ in their opinions over specific treatments or research methodology, all are agreed on the overriding thesis of the book—that the resurgence of disease is one of the most telling indictments of the failure of global political and economic institutions to improve the lives of ordinary people.

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