Magnificent Desolation

June 22, 2009
Picking up the threads of his acclaimed 1973 autobiography, Return to Earth, Aldrin presents as no-holds-barred account of how his celebrity, career and human weaknesses nearly destroyed his life. On July 19, 1968, millions witnessed Neil Armstrong and Aldrin become the first two people on the moon; an instant American hero, Aldrin was "greeted with ticker-tape parades" and spent the next two years, along with his fellow astronauts, as public relations assets for NASA and the Nixon administration. With a PhD from MIT, Aldrin had not only spent eight years training for the mission, but also helped developed technology needed for the mission; upon returning home from his world tour as an "unofficial space ambassador," however, he found the doors at NASA "pretty much closed"; the moon-landing program had given way to the shuttle project. That homecoming would catapult Aldrin into a decades-long struggle with alcoholism and clinical depression (both his grandfather and mother committed suicide) that broke up two marriages before psychiatric treatment and rehab put him on the road to recovery. This inspiring story exhibits Aldrin as a different, perfectly human kind of hero, giving readers a sympathetic look at a man eclipsed by his own legend.

May 15, 2009
The troubled but ultimately redeemed life of the second man to walk on the Moon.

Beginning with the 1969 launch of Apollo 11, Aldrin (co-author: Look to the Stars, 2009, etc.) and co-author Abraham deliver a blow-by-blow account of the journey, landing and return. Readers will be amazed at the feat—achieved with archaic technology—but also recall wistfully that this was the last time that a mighty America flexed its muscles before the world and received unanimous cheers. For Aldrin, the historic mission proved to be an extremely tough act to follow. With no shortage of astronauts, he was not able to return to the Moon; he yearned to command the Air Force Academy, but superiors chose someone else. Like all driven, ambitious men, Aldrin was brutally self-critical. He had achieved his greatest ambition at the age of 39, at which point life seemed to lose its purpose. He began to suffer from depression. Emotional illness was the kiss of death to a military career in the 1970s, so he had to retire. Over the next decade depression and alcoholism overwhelmed him, destroying his marriage and limiting his efforts to forge a new career. His unsentimental account of recovery does not conceal repeated failures or the debilitating depression that still occasionally haunts him. Today Aldrin, nearing 80, remains an active public figure working to reenergize America's faltering space program. As is the case with many memoirs by famous people without a writing background, the author describes events better than people or feelings. He clearly loves his new wife, admires the many rich and powerful people he works with and overflows with ideas for promoting space travel.

An admirable account of an icon of the golden age of space flight.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

July 15, 2009
Drawing his title from the description he radioed to Earth soon after stepping off the lunar lander in 1969, Aldrin offers his second autobiography. In his first, "Return to Earth", the second man to walk on the moon included details about his struggle with depression, an admission that was rare for a military veteran to make but one that helped promote mental health treatment. Both books cover his life until about 1971; this new one also continues from there. Now approaching 80, Aldrin shares his perspective on his life and on the U.S. space program. He quit drinking in the late 1970s, and he divorced his first and second wives and now lives happily with his third. He also describes his work promoting space tourism and worries that the United States won't have the ability to send humans to space for some time after the space shuttles are decommissioned in 2010. VERDICT Much of this memoir is a travelog as Aldrin describes his adventures scuba diving and mixing with celebrities; as such, it will appeal primarily to Aldrin fans and space history buffs.Jeffrey Beall, Univ. of Colorado, Denver

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2009
Aldrins second memoir is as confessional as the first, Return to Earth (1973), which dealt with his depression. He relates the story of his subsequent bout with the alcoholism that dominated his life since the mid-1970s for the sake of autobiographical completeness and as a redemptive example of recovery from addiction. His traversal of two divorces en route to his present marriage adds another narrative element, and his ongoing promotion of space exploration, a third. Naturally responsive to the last, Aldrins prime readers will be gratified by his opening account of his signature public experience, the Apollo XI moon landing. He confesses, though, that the epic mission left him directionless. A return to his air force career failed, as did a spell as a car salesman. Finally, he came to terms with celebrity and, in effect, made it his career. Space fans, in particular, will cheer Aldrin on as he gets back on his feet, courts and wins a supportive new spouse, and resumes his role as prominent advocate of space travel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)