JOHN GLENN: ASTRONAUT

This full length biography of John Glenn begins with his boyhood in Ohio and his early decision to become a pilot. Glenn's military career, spanning two wars, is highly detailed, covering his experiences with the F40 Corsairs in the Pacific and as As a test pilot after the war, he supervised Operation become eligible for Project Mercury. His training for orbital flight culminated on the Big Day when Friendship 7 took off into space. There is a first hand account of that day as well as a full description of the hero's return. The facts are all here, but the emphasis on verbatim quotes from friends and co-workers tends to destroy the sense of immediacy and personal involvement so essential to dynamic biography. The reader is never in direct contact with the subject, though he learns a great deal about him.