The Right Stuff

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780553381351.

When the future began... The men had it. Yeager. Conrad. Grissom. Glenn. Heroes ... the first Americans in space ... battling the Russians for control of the heavens ... putting their lives on the line. The women had it. While Mr. Wonderful was aloft, it tore your heart out that the Heros Wife, down on the ground, had to perform with the whole world watching ... the TV Press Conference: "Whats in your heart? Do you feel with him while hes in orbit?" The Right Stuff. Its the quality beyond bravery, beyond courage. Its men like Chuck Yeager, the greatest test pilot of all and the fastest man on earth. Pete Conrad, who almost laughed himself out of the running. Gus Grissom, who almost lost it when his capsule sank. John Glenn, the only space traveler whose apple-pie image wasnt a lie.