James R. Hansen
                  Professor of History
                  Auburn University

                         308-B Thach Hall
                                 Auburn University, AL 36849
                                 334-844-6628
                                 Click here to e-mail

 


Review Quotes about James R. Hansen's
FIRST MAN: THE LIFE OF NEIL A. ARMSTRONG
(Simon & Schuster, 2005)
 
"Even if you think you know everything about Neil Armstrong and America's historic mission to be the first to land men on the Moon, this remarkable book by Dr. James Hansen contributes a host of fascinating new insights into not only the character of Apollo 11's enigmatic commander but also into the nature of the spacefaring enterprise itself.  It is a book for all time."--Walter Cronkite

"Let it be said at once that his book is an outstanding success.... Immaculately researched and packed with detail, but written in a way that will appeal to readers of all kinds.... This is an important book, and should be in every scientific library.”--Sir Patrick Moore, London Times Educational Supplement

“A fine authorized biography brimming with groundbreaking research, fresh anecdotes and fair-minded analysis. . . . Hansen should be commended for decoding the enigmatic Armstrong: a space hero short on words but sky-high on Midwestern integrity.”--Douglas Brinkley, The New York Times Book Review

“[Hansen’s] mastery of detail is put to splendid use. The narrative of the moon mission is crisp and dramatic, the science clear. He deftly takes us back into those few days of global fascination with the adventure of the three distant voyagers, and the tense uncertainty about how it would turn out. The moon landing is old mental furniture for everyone of Baby Boom age and older….I finished Hansen's Apollo story with a wholly fresh sense of awe at the magnitude of NASA's achievement…. a compelling and nuanced portrait of the astronaut…. to understand Armstrong on his own terms is to see a large truth of our time.”—James Tobin, Chicago Tribune

Click here for further review quotes
 

James R. Hansen at SimonSays, official publishers site

James R. Hansen Speakers Page at the American Program Bureau

NEWS RELEASES
2-11-05
Announcement from Chester Agency on Publication of First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong 

1-23-03
AU Historian Writing Neil Armstrong Biography

9-23-98
AU Historians to Lead National Aerospace Conference

10-28-97
AU Historian Writing on Development of
Powered Flight for NASA

1-19-96
AU Historian Examining if US Golf is Par with Environment

Course Syllabus - Spring 2006

Technology and Civilization II

Web CT

USEFUL LINKS

AU History Homepage

SHOT - Society for the History of Technology

NASA History Office 

RBD Library

The Library of Congress

Merriam Webster Online Dictionary


                                                 Photo Credit: NASA
Enchanted Rendezvous: John C. Houbolt and the Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept
 

This page last updated 4-7-06