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Forever Young: A Life of Adventure in Air and Space
He walked on the Moon. He flew six space missions in three different programs€”more than any other human. He served with NASA for more than four decades. His peers called him the ";astronaut’s astronaut."; Enthusiasts of space exploration have long waited for John Young to tell the story of his two Gemini flights, his two Apollo missions, the first-ever Space Shuttle flight, and the first Spacelab mission. Forever Young delivers all that and Young’s personal journey from engineering graduate to fighter pilot, to test pilot, to astronaut, to high NASA official, to clear-headed predictor of the fate of Planet Earth. Young, with the assistance of internationally distinguished aerospace historian James Hansen, recounts the great episodes of his amazing flying career in fascinating detail and with wry humor. He
432 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
May 11, 2013
So this is the one we've all been waiting for. Of all of the astronaut autobiographies, John Young's has been one of the most eagerly anticipated. John Young, the astronaut's astronaut. He's seen more and done more than any other astronaut in American history. No other astronaut can (or will ever be able to) lay claim to his achievements: flew on the first manned Gemini mission with the legendary Gus Grissom, commanded a later Gemini flight, flew to the moon on Apollo 10, the dress rehearsal for the first landing, landed on the moon as commander of Apollo 16, commanded the very first flight of the Space Shuttle, and then--as if that weren't enough--commanded a second shuttle mission, the first to carry the SpaceLab cargo. That's one tough act to follow. Naturally, everyone interested in the history of spaceflight wanted to hear directly from this man.
Surprisingly, "Forever Young" (a kind of cheesy pun-based title it seems neither the author nor his editors could resist) is only fifty percent recollections of space adventures past. The other fifty percent is devoted to one of Young's lifelong passions: aerospace safety. Whether in the atmosphere in an airplane or flying through space in a rocket, the safety of the vehicle's crew seems to have always been uppermost in Young' s thoughts; it's a consistent theme that runs through his personal story.
Following his final spaceflight, Young turned his attention full time to operational issues associated with the Space Shuttle. While it's apparent to anyone who ever paid much attention to the technical details of the shuttle that it was a very dangerous machine, Young's litany of concerns that he expressed to NASA management over the years (along with revealed details of problems that were never widely discussed in public) make one feel that the thing was a flying death trap. While it's clear that he felt that the shuttle could be operated safely, he conveys the sense that it was only sheer luck that prevented more tragedies than the two which resulted in crew losses. And it's certainly clear that he has little love for the NASA bureaucracy that seemed to stymy the vast majority of his safety improvement suggestions. He details these technical concerns in great detail. While they all seem quite reasonable, he never addresses the cost associated with implementing them. Anyone who engineers safety knows that there's an optimized curve between cost and safety performance. They're linearly related...but infinite safety requires infinite cash. What's the right balance between two in the real world of limited funds? That's a question the reader will have to answer for themselves.
You probably won't learn a whole lot more about those early Gemini and Apollo flights than has been revealed elsewhere, but you'll learn much more about the inner workings of the shuttle program as well as what Young thinks about current national space policy. (Spoiler: he's none too pleased with it.) You'll also learn a lot about one of Young's recent passions: generating support for developing technologies to defend the earth from a potentially species-ending collision with an asteroid.
Surprisingly, "Forever Young" (a kind of cheesy pun-based title it seems neither the author nor his editors could resist) is only fifty percent recollections of space adventures past. The other fifty percent is devoted to one of Young's lifelong passions: aerospace safety. Whether in the atmosphere in an airplane or flying through space in a rocket, the safety of the vehicle's crew seems to have always been uppermost in Young' s thoughts; it's a consistent theme that runs through his personal story.
Following his final spaceflight, Young turned his attention full time to operational issues associated with the Space Shuttle. While it's apparent to anyone who ever paid much attention to the technical details of the shuttle that it was a very dangerous machine, Young's litany of concerns that he expressed to NASA management over the years (along with revealed details of problems that were never widely discussed in public) make one feel that the thing was a flying death trap. While it's clear that he felt that the shuttle could be operated safely, he conveys the sense that it was only sheer luck that prevented more tragedies than the two which resulted in crew losses. And it's certainly clear that he has little love for the NASA bureaucracy that seemed to stymy the vast majority of his safety improvement suggestions. He details these technical concerns in great detail. While they all seem quite reasonable, he never addresses the cost associated with implementing them. Anyone who engineers safety knows that there's an optimized curve between cost and safety performance. They're linearly related...but infinite safety requires infinite cash. What's the right balance between two in the real world of limited funds? That's a question the reader will have to answer for themselves.
You probably won't learn a whole lot more about those early Gemini and Apollo flights than has been revealed elsewhere, but you'll learn much more about the inner workings of the shuttle program as well as what Young thinks about current national space policy. (Spoiler: he's none too pleased with it.) You'll also learn a lot about one of Young's recent passions: generating support for developing technologies to defend the earth from a potentially species-ending collision with an asteroid.
October 2, 2013
I've been waiting for this one for a long time now, and it was worth the wait. It's very comprehensive, covering a lot more than "I was born here, I went to school here", etc -- the heaviest focus is on the Shuttle era, including a lot of testimony and technical info from the Challenger and Columbia disasters. If you're not interested in that, you may find the second half of the book slow, or even padded; it's more of a space history book than an autobiography. For me, though, it filled in knowledge gaps and made my jaw drop several times. The writing style is great, too, pretty much as I expected. I'll need a second reading to absorb all the technical info, so I'm putting this one in the "buy it if they ever put out a reasonably priced e-book" list.
September 17, 2025
Wow, such a great look into just about every phase of NASA history through the lens of someone who stayed through it all. From Gemini to the Shuttle and everything in-between, John Young certainly did a little bit of everything. Learned a lot, not just about him, but about the ins an outs of NASA administration and the challenges faced with running the Astronaut side of the Space Program.
Very dense but packed with great information, definitely not a light read. All in all, liked this one and definitely was given some things to think about moving forward with space exploration.
Very dense but packed with great information, definitely not a light read. All in all, liked this one and definitely was given some things to think about moving forward with space exploration.
December 4, 2013
It was fun to read about the most accomplished astronaut in the history of manned space flight. It becomes very obvious early on that John Young is probably one of the smartest men alive, and probably the most earnest, devout supporter of the space program, in addition to being seriously concerned about the future of humanity. All throughout the book, as he's telling you about the amazing things he's experienced and accomplished, there are sentences and paragraphs explaining how he has new ideas for new challenges, or new ideas to fix old problems. It's abundantly obvious that he's operating on a different level from the rest of us. At times, it's almost like his career is an afterthought to his vision for the future, and humanity's survival. Personally, I was very inspired. I'm a Floridian that grew up in the shadow of the VAB at the peak of the shuttle program, and my roots here were born of the Apollo era. I live and breath the history of the Space Coast, and it's contribution to human history. Reading about John Young's life is necessary to a guy like me. When I say we should never have abandoned the Apollo pace, I'm just some guy. But when you read John Young saying it, it lends your own opinion a little more credibility. I hope and pray for more people like him.
September 30, 2017
Disappointing. Had a wonderful story to tell, but this is quite boring. Most disappointing, his first wife gets ONE sentence!
October 19, 2017
John Young walked on the moon. He drove the grand prix with the rover. Amazing stuff. Yet, and this surprises me, I enjoyed the detail into the shuttle program the most. It's hard to comprehend how any organization could design and implement a space program when nothing of the sort has been done before. Hard to imagine the logistics of coordinating hundreds of thousands of people. Yet NASA nailed it with Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. The Shuttle program lost the momentum and struggled.
I'm a worker. I know that efficiency and "correctness" get lost (or prevented) by individual managers, the in-groups they foster and by layers of management in general. It gets worse across the mix of contractors with varying and different incentive alignments. Young writes about this in specifics about the Shuttle program. Especially in his crusade for safety. It's interesting and saddening.
I appreciate also when Young calls out politics and public disinterest. NASA was hamstrung and still is today. How could we, the public, possibly lose interest in the greatest exploration humans have ever done? Why would politicians not leverage the raw, inherit excitement? I don't know. Young doesn't either.
I disagree with another reviewer on this single point—Young does mention cost trade offs in some of his discussions on things that didn't happen. There were clear cases of waste and foolish decisions that cost much more down the line. Perfect safety doesn't exist and Young never implies it does. He was for reasoned, studied decisions that balanced cost.
One of the clearest themes is the beautiful concept (I'm an engineer) of testing. Testing testing testing. That topic is never overbearing, I just want to applaud it. Well okay and to marvel at how Young is no timid fellow. STS-1 was the first flight of any program to fly manned. The other three programs launched unmanned shakeout flights. Young and Robert Crippen just hopped in and took the new bird for a spin. Wow.
Young has rare experience and insight. I'm thankful it's written down.
I'm a worker. I know that efficiency and "correctness" get lost (or prevented) by individual managers, the in-groups they foster and by layers of management in general. It gets worse across the mix of contractors with varying and different incentive alignments. Young writes about this in specifics about the Shuttle program. Especially in his crusade for safety. It's interesting and saddening.
I appreciate also when Young calls out politics and public disinterest. NASA was hamstrung and still is today. How could we, the public, possibly lose interest in the greatest exploration humans have ever done? Why would politicians not leverage the raw, inherit excitement? I don't know. Young doesn't either.
I disagree with another reviewer on this single point—Young does mention cost trade offs in some of his discussions on things that didn't happen. There were clear cases of waste and foolish decisions that cost much more down the line. Perfect safety doesn't exist and Young never implies it does. He was for reasoned, studied decisions that balanced cost.
One of the clearest themes is the beautiful concept (I'm an engineer) of testing. Testing testing testing. That topic is never overbearing, I just want to applaud it. Well okay and to marvel at how Young is no timid fellow. STS-1 was the first flight of any program to fly manned. The other three programs launched unmanned shakeout flights. Young and Robert Crippen just hopped in and took the new bird for a spin. Wow.
Young has rare experience and insight. I'm thankful it's written down.
September 6, 2018
John Young was undoubtedly the most experienced astronaut of NASA’s early era, active from the days of Gemini, through Apollo and the Space Shuttle. He walked on the Moon, commanded the first test flight of the Space Shuttle and didn’t retire from NASA until he was seventy-four. He was legendary for his soft-spoken demeanour, coolness under pressure and later in his career, for not being afraid to speak truth to power on issues of mission risk.
His memoir is laid out in a straightforward chronological fashion, starting with early life and following him throughout his career in the Navy and at NASA. While he is most well known for his missions, his time as head of the Astronaut Office and then as a sort of senior and independent safety inspector within NASA, make up large parts of the narrative. There is also ample space dedicated to the Challenger and Columbia accidents, with extensive technical detail.
For any NASA and space buff, the memoir is interesting reading. However, it is a bit of a slog. The style is quite dry and self-effacing, much as the man himself. Descriptions of missions mostly chronicle events without poetic embellishments. This is in stark contrast with, for example, the memoirs of Gene Cernan, Gene Krantz and Mike Mullane, which in their different ways speak much more passionately about the subject matter. The book feels long-winded in many parts, with sections which are just listing various mission achievements, seemingly for completeness’ sake. The most readable bits are where Mr. Young manages to convey his considerable technical expertise to illustrate an issue concisely, such as when he discusses his testimony before the Rogers Commission, investigating Challenger.
I strongly felt that more decisive editing could have made this a more readable book, but then again, I also felt that Mr. Young’s particular voice came through loud and clear.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2018/09/...
His memoir is laid out in a straightforward chronological fashion, starting with early life and following him throughout his career in the Navy and at NASA. While he is most well known for his missions, his time as head of the Astronaut Office and then as a sort of senior and independent safety inspector within NASA, make up large parts of the narrative. There is also ample space dedicated to the Challenger and Columbia accidents, with extensive technical detail.
For any NASA and space buff, the memoir is interesting reading. However, it is a bit of a slog. The style is quite dry and self-effacing, much as the man himself. Descriptions of missions mostly chronicle events without poetic embellishments. This is in stark contrast with, for example, the memoirs of Gene Cernan, Gene Krantz and Mike Mullane, which in their different ways speak much more passionately about the subject matter. The book feels long-winded in many parts, with sections which are just listing various mission achievements, seemingly for completeness’ sake. The most readable bits are where Mr. Young manages to convey his considerable technical expertise to illustrate an issue concisely, such as when he discusses his testimony before the Rogers Commission, investigating Challenger.
I strongly felt that more decisive editing could have made this a more readable book, but then again, I also felt that Mr. Young’s particular voice came through loud and clear.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2018/09/...
December 11, 2020
Having flown the first Gemini mission, walked on the moon (and travelled there twice) and flown the first Space Shuttle mission, John Young is quite rightly regarded as the most experienced of all the astronaut pioneers. This book clearly reflects that.
What is even more impressive, however, is what a deeply thoughtful, insightful and intelligent man he was.
This is a very entertaining, informative and well written account of those three very different space adventures, and much more.
I was particularly taken with the section about the shuttle programme. What a catalogue of errors, near misses and, of course, terrible tragedies. I was actually horrified reading it. I’m amazed that there weren’t more disasters. This book is worth reading for that alone.
My only criticism, and it’s a small one, is that there is an awful lot of use of abbreviations, which is a bit of a shame. There is a useful index of these at the end of the book, but that’s rather difficult to use in a kindle edition.
All in all, I’d thoroughly recommend this read. You won’t be disappointed.
What is even more impressive, however, is what a deeply thoughtful, insightful and intelligent man he was.
This is a very entertaining, informative and well written account of those three very different space adventures, and much more.
I was particularly taken with the section about the shuttle programme. What a catalogue of errors, near misses and, of course, terrible tragedies. I was actually horrified reading it. I’m amazed that there weren’t more disasters. This book is worth reading for that alone.
My only criticism, and it’s a small one, is that there is an awful lot of use of abbreviations, which is a bit of a shame. There is a useful index of these at the end of the book, but that’s rather difficult to use in a kindle edition.
All in all, I’d thoroughly recommend this read. You won’t be disappointed.
January 9, 2022
A brilliant flyer and astronaut … opinionated, technical and long winded as a writer
John Young was my favorite astronaut. Who walked on the moon, flew the first space shuttle, even flew the test landings the day I saw Joe Engle land STS-2 Columbia at Edwards? John Young. He could do it all.
The stories he tells about his early life, early flying and astronaut career are fascinating, though increasingly technical and jargon-packed the more chapters you read.
But like many of us as we age, Young became increasingly frustrated that his experience hadn’t demanded others’ attention and clearly he felt ignored in his later NASA years. That’s sad and unfortunate on so many levels.
In short, it sucks to get old.
He deserves to be admired and remembered, but for all but the most ardent space enthusiasts, this book may not help his case.
John Young was my favorite astronaut. Who walked on the moon, flew the first space shuttle, even flew the test landings the day I saw Joe Engle land STS-2 Columbia at Edwards? John Young. He could do it all.
The stories he tells about his early life, early flying and astronaut career are fascinating, though increasingly technical and jargon-packed the more chapters you read.
But like many of us as we age, Young became increasingly frustrated that his experience hadn’t demanded others’ attention and clearly he felt ignored in his later NASA years. That’s sad and unfortunate on so many levels.
In short, it sucks to get old.
He deserves to be admired and remembered, but for all but the most ardent space enthusiasts, this book may not help his case.
February 5, 2018
Soon as I read Young's obituary I knew I wanted to read his book for his account of his growing up. The space stuff was good, to be sure - scary EVAs, Apollo 13, the Russian laser aimed at Challenger, and most importantly his caution about safety standards when pieces of NASA's work is privatized. But even better was his encapsulated story of growing up in depression-era Cartersville, Ga., and other points south - Orlando and Signal Mt, TN - up to his entry into that North Avenue Trade School in Atlanta, Georgia Tech. The Book of Knowledge, the tomato sandwiches - it could have been a novel all its own. But Young is no more, sadly. And as he writes, in fifty years no one who saw the first Moon landing will be alive. And there will have been no more Americans landed on the Moon, either.
October 5, 2021
Young's career during Gemini and Apollo has been well covered by the histories of those programs. The new ground broken here is Young's involvement with the Shuttle program. His mission with Crippen of STS-1 was the riskiest test flight ever flown during the space program. Even that has been covered elsewhere. The surprise in his book is how Young fought tirelessly for safety during his time dealing with the Shuttle program. It was shocking to read how many of Young's recommendations were ignored, lost in the bureaucracy, or denied due to a lack of funds. It's a wonder that more shuttles weren't lost due to NASA's inability to address Young's pressing safety concerns. Young dedicated his life to spaceflight and left his mark on the program. His legacy is assured.
November 2, 2020
A really enjoyable read from one of the early astronauts. A great perspective on Young's career in spaceflight, and afterwards, when he wrote a *LOT* of memos about crew safety and other items during the Shuttle era. That section could be a little dry, but it gave a good perspective on what the issues were that plagued NASA during those years.
I would have liked a bit more personal reflection on what it all meant to Young, how these experiences changed him, or didn't. But that can be an issue with many of these astronaut biographies. Personal reflection in print is not one of those items that gets included in these texts.
Overall, a very good read, and I recommend it highly.
I would have liked a bit more personal reflection on what it all meant to Young, how these experiences changed him, or didn't. But that can be an issue with many of these astronaut biographies. Personal reflection in print is not one of those items that gets included in these texts.
Overall, a very good read, and I recommend it highly.
March 20, 2022
The memoir was comprehensive covering the life of an astronaut from the early days to John Young's retirement in 2004. He was an intelligent and conscientious man who cared deeply about the safety of the other astronauts. The book is a straightforward account until the last several chapters when the focus shifts to saving the earth from asteroid destruction and environmental disaster. There is no trace of a spiritual belief component to his life which is probably intentional so as to not upset many readers. The lack of faith in God or anything beyond mankind colors Young's conclusions. If you are interested in our space program Forever Young is a must read.
December 11, 2022
John Young, the most travelled astronaut in history and perhaps ever will exists after piloting 3 different space craft plus the LM and the lunar rover.
I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. Being such a fan of John Young and his work during Gemini and Apollo I was expecting much more of that stuff in this book, however, that stuff has already been covered in tons of memoirs. It does devote a lot of time to the development of the Space Shuttle which is a topic that is probably lacking in the space literature.
Also found it interesting in that it seems like John Young has no time for Gene Kranz
I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. Being such a fan of John Young and his work during Gemini and Apollo I was expecting much more of that stuff in this book, however, that stuff has already been covered in tons of memoirs. It does devote a lot of time to the development of the Space Shuttle which is a topic that is probably lacking in the space literature.
Also found it interesting in that it seems like John Young has no time for Gene Kranz
December 24, 2019
After Hansen's Armstrong biography I might have set my expectations too high regarding Forever Young.
As far as I know, the creation process of this book was rather difficult one- and it shows. There's some (quite minor, but still) points where the book could have benefited from fact-checking and sometimes it was too technical. We don't really learn anything new about Young as a person - but at the same time, the book tells quite lot about him.
As far as I know, the creation process of this book was rather difficult one- and it shows. There's some (quite minor, but still) points where the book could have benefited from fact-checking and sometimes it was too technical. We don't really learn anything new about Young as a person - but at the same time, the book tells quite lot about him.
December 20, 2022
An autobiography by such a long-serving astronaut, who flew on Gemini, Apollo and the Shuttle, is always going to be worth reading. You can certainly see how Young’s mind worked and where his values lay as he focusses far more on the technical details of Spaceflight (sometimes in a way difficult for the average reader to understand) than on the people around him. Probably the best part is the epilogue where he lays out his concerns and hopes for the future of Spaceflight.
April 2, 2025
~ 5 Stars ~
Basic Plot: This is the story of John Young and his life. He writes about his career as a test pilot and in NASA.
My Thoughts: If you're someone who loves space this book is absolutely for you! I'm someone who is very interested in space and all sorts of things to do with it, which is part of why I loved this book so much. I also liked the little bits of humor added occasionally. Overall I definitely recommend this book.
Basic Plot: This is the story of John Young and his life. He writes about his career as a test pilot and in NASA.
My Thoughts: If you're someone who loves space this book is absolutely for you! I'm someone who is very interested in space and all sorts of things to do with it, which is part of why I loved this book so much. I also liked the little bits of humor added occasionally. Overall I definitely recommend this book.
January 24, 2021
Detailed, as you would expect
Detailed and 100% Young’s perspective. Aside from the depth of detail and plethora of information I haven’t got in any other title it is very insightful in to Young’s state of mind and how he approached everything. A bit of a slog to get through but well worth it.
Detailed and 100% Young’s perspective. Aside from the depth of detail and plethora of information I haven’t got in any other title it is very insightful in to Young’s state of mind and how he approached everything. A bit of a slog to get through but well worth it.
August 3, 2025
This one really disappointed me. John Young had an amazing career, was our nation’s most decorated astronauts, flew to the moon twice, walked on the moon and flew the first Space Shuttle. All the ingredients for an amazing story, right?
Well, I couldn’t even finish it. WAY too esoteric, lacking the captivating content I was expecting.
Well, I couldn’t even finish it. WAY too esoteric, lacking the captivating content I was expecting.
January 15, 2018
Gemini. Apollo. Space Shuttle. Lots of detail. Very readable. A peek into the sausage factory; some of it is Not Pretty. Written by a major participant. The last few chapters require a willingness to tough it out.
May 7, 2018
This is an excellent book
I have read many books on the Apollo program, written by both the Astronauts and the people who worked on the program. This book will not let you down.
I have read many books on the Apollo program, written by both the Astronauts and the people who worked on the program. This book will not let you down.
August 24, 2018
This man had an amazing career, and was both talented and kind- the kind of man you'd like to meet and know. Thank you for contributing to the literature- sharing your inspirational story was a gift. Thank you.
February 28, 2018
Very dry and well below expectations, considering the subject.
March 23, 2020
Book is very informative, but way to much detail.
April 12, 2020
Read on Kindle.
September 1, 2020
A pretty good read if your really into space. It is not a very personal memoir and quite technical especially the last quarter of the book.
November 23, 2020
Excellent book about the life of a great man who led an extraordinary life. Low ratings for lots of technical/detailed parts that I had to skim...
July 15, 2022
An all time astronaut but a weak memoir.
June 19, 2023
Young told us of a wonderful era, the early space age since 2004, he was a good astronaut.
A wonderful read for those who love aviation & space era
A wonderful read for those who love aviation & space era
February 12, 2024
Heart felt and passionate but way too technical for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews