Into the Sky with Diamonds: The Beatles and the Race to the Moon in the Psychedelic '60s

by Ronald P. Grelsamer

One small step for a man. One giant leap for rock ‘n roll. NASA’s race with the Russians to land a man on the moon. The meteoric rise of the Beatles, considered by many to have revolutionized the music industry. In the postwar era, each stood as an unprecedented cultural watershed. Together they captured the heady zeitgeist of the 1960s, and ignited the imagination of - just about everyone on the planet. Into the Sky with Diamonds is an exhilarating account of these two global phenomena, as seen through the eyes of Dutch Richtman, a young, enterprising NASA engineer who manages to snag a front row seat to both. Dutch’s memoir takes us on the turbulent ride of breathtaking successes and harrowing failures that marked the early years of space travel - beginning with Projects Mercury and Gemini leading up to the Apollo program. We discover the thrills and sacrifices, personalities and politics involved in navigating these early space missions. And through Dutch’s fictional correspondence with buddy Mal Evans (a character true to the Beatles’ real-life roadie of the same name), we are introduced to a rock band of four working class lads from Liverpool who just happen to turn the music industry on its head and become the unwitting leaders of a youth movement for change. We witness it the band’s electrifying rise, their unforgettable debut on the Ed Sullivan show, the social, political, and religious controversies they generated, and their painful dissolution, as John’s fierce attachment to Yoko Ono forever alters the trajectory of the “Fab Four.”

402 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2010

Reviews

[BookTrib.com]

INTO THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS will be a wild ride of memories and flashbacks for readers who lived through the era — or a detailed and thorough history lesson for those who are too young to remember. Either way, it is an engrossing combination of fact and fiction.

Read our full review here:
https://booktrib.com/2021/11/01/the-b...

[Paul Ramey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant read!! As a lover of both the Apollo space program and The Beatles, I was held captive at this wonderful weaving of the two. The author knows his stuff, trivia-wise, as well as how to write a simply wonderful yarn. Highly recommend to everyone!

[Doris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instead of trying to mesh all into a multi-purpose "historical fictional autobiographical" genre, I'd have preferred separate books on the subjects where the importance of each got their due. The letters pertaining to the Beatles were fascinating but truly lost in this format. I didn't want to go online for pictures; the book would have benefited by being designed to accommodate them.

[Sprayregen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun adventure! Loved reading it!