Book Review: Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the First Untethered Flight in Space by Bruce McCandless III

About:

Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the First Untethered Flight in Space by Bruce McCandless III is a memoir / biography of the author’s father. Mr. McCandless is a published author and writer.

• 284 pages
• Publisher : Greenleaf Book Group Press
• Language : English
• ISBN-10 : 1626348650

My rating for Wonders All Around – 5
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Thought:

This book was a wonderful homage to the author’s father and his huge contributions to the United States, as well as the space program. Bruce McCandless II was an intelligent, productive scientist and engineer. Indeed, he waited a long time, longer than most would find acceptable, to go into space.

Certainly, in all the reading I did about the space program, the name of Bruce McCandless II came up. In Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the First Untethered Flight in Space by Bruce McCandless III, the author unquestionably does justice to his hero.

Without a doubt, the tagline got it right: “The man you never knew you knew”.

Mr. McCandless II, was a Navy pilot before joining NASA in 1966.  You can see him in many documentaries, including being the capsule communicator (CAPCOM) in Huston talking to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their historic moon landing. During his time, Mr. McCandless II developed many tools and technologies used by astronauts, until he got to go on the 10^th Challenger shuttle mission.

The author talks about his father’s project of developing the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) while working at NASA, as well as his role in developing, and fixing the Hubble Space Telescope. Along the way, there’s a memoir of the son about what it meant to grow up in a family of such an extraordinary man, who is dedicated to his job.

Like the majority of us, you only appreciate your parents in hindsight, with the benefit of time passed.  As an adult, one sees the past differently, as well as an eye on parents which are no longer superhuman.

I enjoyed reading this book very much, about the space program, as well as coming of age in a time where technological developments were not a “given”. The author, justifiably, shines a light on the contributions his beloved father made to the world at large.

Buy Wonders All Around from Amazon.com*
More Books by Bruce McCandless III*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account