Wally Funk's Race for Space: The Extraordinary Story of a Female Aviation Pioneer

by Sue Nelson

In 1961, Wally Funk was among the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the ‘Women in Space’ programme. Wally sailed through a series of rigorous physical and mental tests, her scores beating many of the male candidates, including those of John Glenn, the first American in orbit. But just one week before she was due to enter the final phase of training, the programme was abruptly cancelled. A combination of politics and prejudice meant that none of the women ever flew into space. Undeterred, Wally went on to become one of America’s first female aviation inspectors and civilian flight instructors, though her dream of being an astronaut never dimmed.

In this offbeat odyssey, journalist and fellow space buff Sue Nelson travels with Wally, now approaching her 80th birthday, as she races to make her giant leap - before it’s too late. Covering their travels across the United States and Europe - taking in NASA’s mission control in Houston and Spaceport America in New Mexico, where Wally’s ride to space awaits - this is a uniquely intimate and entertaining portrait of a true aviation trailblazer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Space, Aviation, Womens, History, Feminism

Audible Audio

First published October 4, 2018

Reviews

[Imi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is less a biography of Wally Funk, one of the women who if not for sexism could have landed on the Moon in the 1960s, and more of a fun space-themed road-trip, where journalist Sue Nelson and Wally become best of friends, and travel the world interviewing spacey people. While still telling an important lesser known story of the space race, it is simply just a whole lot of fun, and written in such a lovely informal style. I raced through this! I hope you get into space one day, dear Wally.

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the idea and the message of this book. But I'm not sure it's enough to fill out all these pages. All I got from it was that Wally is quite a character indeed, and kind of like a 5 year old with ADD in an 80 year old's body, in a good kind of way. The info about the Mercury 13 program was quite short, although I guess there is more than one separate book about that, and that was not the aim of this one. This one ended up sort of talking about the programme for a bit, and then more about Wally, but in the end it just sort of ended up about how the author and Wally visited museums and met astronauts and other people in the field to get recordings for a radio programme. Truly, I'm not sure this is enough content for a book. It's not very interesting to read about two women visiting museums and Branson spaceflight events, and then grumbling that Virgin Galactic is taking forever to take one of them to space. Maybe as an article, it would have been great, though. Even a series of blog posts, perhaps, or radio programmes/podcasts.

The thing I found the hardest to stomach about this book was how the author was constantly broadcasting mixed signals of her own feelings about Wally. She likes her and finds her genuine, but half the narration she is complaining about how she's essentially 'babysitting' Wally, how annoyingly energetic and exhausting she is, almost like a child with her chatter and constant questions. I developed a slight dislike towards Wally because of this, and after half the book, I realized that I don't even know her, so it's not fair to dislike her - and I'm just projecting the author's feelings. I feel like that's not really fair to Wally, it's very impartial and not very professional to write like that. Maybe I would love Wally if I met her. But it's very hard not to project, especially because every other page is either "she's so hard to be beside" and then suddenly again "she's so radiant and awesome". So which is it? Or both..? (I mean, it could be both, but... What's your message? Are you actually trying to make me dislike Wally?)

All that said, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle Wally myself if I was ever fortunate enough to meet her, because even at 80 she seems to have more energy than I've literally ever had in my life, and even thinking about it while I was reading was making me exhausted. Regardless, I am very happy for Wally that she made it into space - actually, genuinely, incredibly happy, especially considering her age and how long she's had to wait. The amount of effort she put into it - the testing in her youth, all those tickets she bought (bought!!) with her own money from all of those companies who pretty much all disappointed her, and didn't she fly with the OTHER one in the end? However it worked out, I'm so happy she did get to go to space in one way or another.

[Eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

If there were a prize for titles so bad they're good, this would surely win. It happens to really be the name of the woman about whom the book is written: Mary Wallace Funk, now in her eighties, has gone by "Wally" for most of her life. Her distinction is that she is one of the highest-achieving members of the Mercury Thirteen, a group of women who were selected for, and underwent, astronaut training in the same way as the more famous (and more male) Mercury Seven. The funding for the women's program was cut, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, and none of those who trained ever made it into space. Funk was an outstanding aviator and has spent much of her life pursuing her dream of being in orbit; she's got Virgin Galactic tickets, though she fears she'll die before she can use them. The book itself is an inspirational and infuriating reminder that women in science have always been both pioneering and ignored. Funk is a strange person, with characteristics that seem almost pathological (loud, repetitive speech; constant questions; absolutely no shame about the body, but very awkward when conversation turns to sex and relationships). Sue Nelson is a radio journalist, and the book often reads more conversationally than elegantly; it's a curious mix of travelogue and biography that doesn't always sit well together. It's hella informative, though.

[Jaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite considering myself a bit of a space nerd, I didn't know about the Mercury 13 - the women who completed the same gruelling tasks as the male astronaut candidates for the Mercury space programme. Despite a high rate of success, the programme was cancelled - sexist attitudes were no less prevalent at NASA than in any other area of American life - and the women were told to forget any dreams of space travel.

One of the women - the now 81 year old Wally Funk -never gave up her dream, and is still tryng to get into space. Wally is a woman who never takes no for an answer, and has packed several lifetimes into her one. By the end of the book I guarantee that, like me, you will be willing her to realise her dream of heading into space on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about Wally Funk's obsession with space, and was very happy to see that she got to go on one of the newly available commercial flights this summer (with Bezos). However, this book was a disappointment. It is not so much about Wally -- at least until the end -- as it is about the author's struggle with Wally. The book relates the story of the author's unwilling collaboration with Wally on a series of radio interviews. The author didn't even seem to like Wally's admittedly large personality, and was pretty hard on her in a lot of ways. The writing is also kind of choppy, and so the story is told in little chunks, some of which are repeated in the book. Close to the end we learn a bit about Wally's early life. The title should be something like "How I got to know Wally, even though I didn't really want to. She's a character."

[Billy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK - I feel like it could have been executed better. The title was misleading - Nelson and Funk basically travel around interviewing people and parts of each chapter incorporate bits of Funk's life, how she became interested in space, and aviation. At times, her personality was too "overbearing" for my quiet self, at others, it was quite nice - her passion is quite catchy, I will admit. It is remarkable how a 78-year-old woman can still have so much stamina, but I think this would have been better as a biography of Funk.

[Varun Gudibanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this expecting a straightforward biography about Wally Funk and the Mercury 13. If you go into it expecting that, you will be disappointed (as seems to have happened to other reviewers). The book is mostly about the author’s friendship with Wally and you get a better idea of Wally’s personality and character with some historical info in there as well. Although it’s not what I was expecting, I still enjoyed it because of Wally’s eccentric personality. It was a bit heartbreaking hearing how keen she still was about going to space though but it’s important to realize how her dream and opportunity was snatched away quite suddenly and unfairly - the book is very good about describing this and making this point clear. It is relieving to know that she did eventually make it into space even though it’s not mentioned in the book. Phew. Hopefully we all collectively learn from the experiences of Mercury 13.

[Jamie Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb! This is a story I never knew anything about, the Mercury 13, 13 women who were chosen to train as America’s first women NASA astronauts in 1960s. But unfortunately the programme got scrapped due to politics and sexism, this is the story of the youngest to qualify, Wally Funk. Wally hasn’t given up her hope of getting into space, she could have been quite bitter about it, but she embraces life fully and continues to learn and try and improve, even if she is a pensioner. Wally’s enthusiasm for life is infectious, and I was smiling so much reading this book, although at times it was also poignant. Whilst this is fundamentally a book about space, I think anyone could pick this book up and be inspired by reading Wally’s story.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is not much about women in the Space race. So it's nice to read about one and the pioneer spirit

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading about her. Hadn't heard of her or the Mercury 13 women astronaut candidates. Heard of her when she flew on Blew Origin.

[Jen K · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1959, after Dr. Lovelace conducted the physical and psychological screening tests to choose the first astronauts, Mercury 7 (all male), for the US, through private funding, he administered the same tests to women pilots selecting the Mercury 13. The women did as well as the men or better. One of those woman was Wally Funk. Through the author's own passion for space and as a BBC producer, Nelson met Wally Funk first for an interview and then later produced a longer series about women in the space program with Wally as her presenter. This book regales their adventure traveling so several monuments to space- Houston, Cape Canaveral, Roswell, the European Space Agency, and about their interviews with the women working as astronauts, physicians and flight directors. Interspersed throughout their travels is Wally's own life history from space candidate and pilot to an air safety investigator. She is truly a spunky and fascinating lady.

I really enjoyed the history of women in space which I really hadn't known much beyond Christa McAuliffe and Sally Ride. It is so heart breaking that the women of Mercury 13 rose to every challenge they faced and then were summarily dismissed as women and there is still so much sexism in regard to female astronauts. While it clear that Nelson and Funk developed a friendship, I found Nelson's constant put downs of Funk's quirks to be off-putting. She seemed to relish catching Wally in any exaggeration and the constant slights were unnecessary. There could certainly be a different way to show Funk's personality.

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

None of them go to space and instead is full of interviews and random conversations that I couldn’t care less about. Trust me, I would not pick up this book for even someone I hate; don’t put yourself through that. If I could, I’d rate it ZERO STARS.

[Barry Davidoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wally Funk's Race for Space is based on the legend of the Mercury 13.
The Mercury 13 were a group of 13 women pilots who underwent a series of unofficial medical tests similar to those given the original Mercury male astronauts. The tests were completely unofficial and not in anyway part of any program to even consider women as astronauts. The tests were conducted at the Lovelace Clinic and were not conducted under any agreement with NASA or any branch of the US government. Several women pilots completed extensive medical tests but were never in anyway sanctioned as candidates for the space program. These women were a mere footnote until the 1990's when several authors to promote women in space created the Mercury 13 legend.
The tests devised by Randy Lovelace for the first group of male astronauts were not useful in the selection process and were discarded by NASA in selecting later astronauts. Schirra, one of the original Mercury astronauts in his autobiography, Schurra's Space called Loveless sadistic and the medical tests not realistic in astronaut selection. The results of the tests on the women pilots were never published.
Randy Lovelace certainly sexually harassed the women pilots. The tests invaded every part of their bodies supposedly as a medical exam. In the isolation test three of the women pilots including Wally Funk were placed in a large tank filled with water at neutral bouyancy so that they would float. The room was darkened and sound proofed. The women were totally nude as they floated ad Wally Funk set a record at floating nude for over 10 hours while Jerry Cobb floated nude for 9 hours. They were observed during the entire time by Randy Lovelace and his male assistants. The male astronauts isolation test was just placing them in a darkened room. The pyscho-sexual nature of Lovelace's predatory practices of placing totally nude women in a flotation tank are obvious.
Sue Nelson goes along with the legend of the Mercury 13. She is a BBC journalist and most of the book is a series of meetings with Wally Funk 35-50 years after the tests. Nelson also met with other women who are in the space program
Nelson never examined the original records of the Lovelace clinic or reveal that the use of the tests was discarded by NASA. The book is mostly a series of Wally Funk stories and Wally comes across as a delightful person. Nelson never questions the true status of the Mercury 13 as women who never were part of a governmental space program.
in her "Sources and Further reading Nelson admits to not thoroughly researching sources on the Mercury 13. She states that she "became worried that their tales about Wally would influence my own experience of her so I deliberately put them on hold until after writing for this book was finished." Judging from the number of errors, omissions and inconsistencies throughout the book, Nelson displays a cavalier attitude towards facts.
In the movie "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" the conclusion is that "When fact becomes legend, print the legend"
Sue Nelson chose to print the legend of Wally Funk.

[Karen Mace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was book 6 of my 20 Books of Summer 2020.

What a blooming amazing woman Wally Funk is!! Even at the age of 80 she's fighting hard to achieve her dream of going into Space. And in this book we get to hear all about her amazing career and the astonishingly poor treatment that women were receiving in the 1960's, especially in the world of the US space race when a group of 13 female pilots were put through the rigorous, and brutal, testing process as part of Mercury 13 only to have the funding cut just before the mission. No reason was ever given, and this was such a huge blow to Wally and the other women.

What also comes across throughout this book is the touching friendship between the author, Sue Nelson, and Wally as they travel together visiting a variety of places connecting to the world of Space. They often drive each other nuts, but for the most part they are inspired and enthused by one another and share such a lovely bond as they discover new aspects to the history and the future of Space travel.

This book is so illuminating into the derisive attitudes shown towards the women in the 1960's and onwards, and even when Wally outshines her male rivals at some of the tests, there are still doubts as to whether women should even be trying out for a place on the next space shuttle. Through this book we get to hear about the amazing achievements she accomplished through her life and even at 80 she's hungry for more! She's even bought herself a ticket to be a space tourist on the Virgin Galactic Space which is hoping to be the first commercial space flight - if it ever goes ahead!

Wally is a formidable woman with such an inspiring tale to tell and I'm very grateful for Sue Nelson for sharing it with us. She's the kind of woman we should be teaching all young girls to look up to and aspire to be. Her energy and determination to prove people wrong is infectious and I just loved spending time in the company of her thanks to this book! I just hope she gets to achieve her dream!!

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had wanted to read Wally Funk's race for space ever since I first say it when it came out in 2019. And finally I read it.

I had never heard of Wally Funk or the Mercury 13 before reading the book. I had no idea that there were 13 women who took some of the tests that the mercury 7 took back in 1961. Amazing. I only wish the had been allowed to finish the tests and go up to space like the men.

In the book I learned about Wally's parents. She was very close to her mother. Her mother actually flew a plane in 1919. Neat. I also learned about Wally's time as a flight instructor and her time as an air crash investigator. The book even talks about a horrible plane crash that Wally investigated that killed 144 people.

And of course I also learned about some of the tests Wally and the other Mercury 13 took in 1961. And about some of the other Mercury 13.

Wally and so travel to different places in the book to places operated by Nasa, ESa, virgin galactic. At least one of the trips sue and wally are traveling to make a radio documentary. Wally was the host of the documentaries. Or is it presenter. And sue was the producer I think.

In the last chapter Wally and sue go to a storage locker of wallies and look at some of Wallies Memorabilia.

So Wally Funks race for space is not a traditional biography but, through Sue and Wally's travels I did learn probably what I would have learned about Wally from a regular biography.

One thing I learned about Wally is her erratic driving. As great a pilot as she is I thought she would be as good on the ground driving cars. Not so.

Oh, that reminds me Wally used to participate in Collegiate air races. I never knew that colleges participated in air races. And later Wally from in the powder puff derby and other air races. It was interesting to learn her talk about the air racing.

Wally is sure interesting and has led a very interesting life.

[Courtney Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was worth reading, though it wasn't quite what I expected or entirely satisfying. Wally is clearly an amazing woman, and certainly a pioneer of human spaceflight and aviation, so I really wanted to learn more about her career and life. There are details about that in this book, but a lot of it is taken up with a series of modern-day visits the author and Wally took to space-related locations. While these are interesting, they felt like they had been stretched out to fill the book, whereas other parts were cut short. Though I generally enjoyed the author's voice and style, I found the way she talked about Wally and some of the interviewees off-putting at times. I can only hope Wally saw and approved the text before it was published.

There was one part in chapter 1 that really struck me:

By the time I first interviewed Wally in 1997, she had applied to NASA's astronaut programme several times but, without the requisite engineering or science qualifications, hadn't succeeded. She wasn't taking no for an answer even then.

If the one thing standing between Wally and getting into space was such a qualification, why did she not work towards achieving it? I am sure it would not be beyond her capabilities, so there must be another reason, but it's not explored at all.

However, as I said, this book is worth reading if you're at all interested in the role of women in human spaceflight, despite its flaws. It would have made a great podcast series! I also recommend it if you need a reminder of how morally bankrupt the space tourism industry is: Wally bought a ticket to go into space with Virgin Galactic, only to be told repeatedly her trip was only a year or so away. She did eventually go up with Blue Origin, but I can't imagine a ten-minute trip with no control over the vehicle was especially satisfying for her.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for a book about a woman who could have been the 1st woman in space. Funk is an amazing woman who passed all of the same tests that the men astronauts took. She was one of the "Mercury 13", 13 women who took the same tests that the men astronauts took under the supervision of the same man who supervised the male astronaut testing program. This book was a revelation to me, since I didn't know until now that women were tested for the NASA space program in 1961, through a privately funded program and with the assistance of Dr. Lovelace, who supervised testing for both men and women candidates. The program was shut down because "only men can be astronauts."
Sue Nelson is a BBC space reporter and has done many BBC radio interviews on space subjects. She found out about this program and decided to interview as many of the women possible. Wally Funk became her friend and the chief subject of her BBC program, which then became a book.
When this book was written in 2017, Wally was 78 years old and still determined to become an astronaut. She has spent $200,000 to buy a ticket for a ride on a Virgin Galactic spacecraft.
This woman is a true trailblazer. I recommend this book to anyone interested in space exploration and all women who read this review.
Two quotes:
Author description of Wally: " A woman born for descriptions such as force of nature, unstoppable, and, at times, woman with a death wish." Wally never uses seat belts while driving.
Never married Wally: "I'm married to my plane."
I read this library book in 4 days.

[BookTrib.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

They had the right stuff. But they were the wrong sex.

That would be an appropriate epitaph for the women of the Mercury 13, or Woman in Space, program, a privately funded project in the early 1960s to test women pilots for astronaut fitness. The women never made it into space – the program was abruptly canceled — but they are regarded as trailblazers in the annals of aviation.

One member of the group, the energetic Wally Funk, was put through 87 rigorous tests over 5-1/2 days to determine whether she in fact had the right stuff. Her scores surpassed many of the men in the famous Mercury 7 program, including one guy named John Glenn.

Her story is documented in the colorful Wally Funk’s Race for Space: The Extraordinary Story of a Female Aviation Pioneer (Chicago Review Press) by Sue Nelson.

Nelson is the perfect chronicler: She is a multi-award-winning British science journalist specializing in space. She makes radio documentaries for the BBC, short films for scientific organizations and the European Space Agency, and co-presents the monthly Space Boffins podcast. She has reported on a number of space missions over the years. More recently, she achieved a personal ambition by floating like an astronaut onboard a Zero G flight.

The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/03/wally-fu...

[Davina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author clearly likes her subject. She admits that Wally has become her friend, and that comes through. So is this book hagiography? I don't think so, but I know I was questioning that along the way. Wally Funk achieved a lot over her career, but have some of her claims morphed later in life, like the author keep bringing up about Wally's memory of how much warning she had to report to the Lovelace clinic. I know I wondered if Wally was ADHD, or something. Or is it just hard to have pursued something for so long, and given the problems with the start of space tourism, that she will never get the chance to go in to space, even as a sub-orbital tourist. I almost wanted an appendix which would spell out all Wally's awards and achievements, just to get the timeline down. In some ways, the book reminds me of the authors descriptions of Wally's storytelling, that it felt non-linear. Still, I enjoyed the book. No idea if she could have been an Apollo commander, as we lost all kinds of astronauts along the way. Some left before getting a flight, and a number died in plane crashed, and a handful have died on Missions (or testing for a Mission as in the Apollo 1 fire.) Still worth reading for sure. I was surprised at growing the like the subject.

[Jayme Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It was just that her life had been so extraordinary, and so beyond what most people experienced, that sometimes it presented itself like fiction. Or the ramblings of a madwoman." These sentences really summed up my feelings about the bigger than life Wally Funk after reading this book.

While I did not have much interest in the recent Race to Space by Billionaires, I was very curious about the vibrant 82 year old woman who went up with Jeff Bezos, that woman being Wally Funk. Until looking into who she was, I did not know there was a group of women, the Mercury 13, who had gone through testing in the early 60's to become astronauts.

Loved how the author told the story, which gave us a taste of who Wally was and is, as well as so much information on other women involved in the science of space. You will not be reading a biography that begins when Wally was born, but rather the story of how the author and Wally became friends over a 20 year period. The author, Sue Nelson, created a BBC documentary for radio and Wally was the interviewer. They really seemed like quite the pair.

I do hope that we get to see Wally Funk take another trip to space. Cannot imagine anyone more deserving than her to have that happen.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wally Funk (birth name Mary Wallace Funk) was one of the Mercury 13, women pilots who underwent and passed a series of physical and medical tests in 1961 meant to determine whether the subjects were suitable to become astronauts. From the time she heard of the possibility, Funk wanted to go into space. Although NASA did not pursue the possibility of women astronauts from the U.S. at that time, Funk continued to hope that she could go into space. She eventually succeeded as a "space tourist" with Jeff Bezos in 2021.

This book is a mixture of anecdotes, biography, and history. Author Sue Nelson is a radio producer for the BBC who met Wally Funk through one of her programs on women in space. They became friends, worked on several programs together, and traveled to various sites related to space travel. The book is told in first person by Ms. Nelson, describing the various trips and how she learned more about Ms. Funk. It is very chatty and is not a comprehensive biography or history although there is a lot of information about women astronauts included.

[Nick Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable tale - part biography and part travelogue - of Wally Funk, aviatrix and one of the thirteen female 'prospective astronauts' who in the 1960s was part of the Mercury programme, a group of women who passed all the same NASA tests as the men who became America's first astronauts - only for the programme to put an American woman in space to be cancelled.

This insight in to the history of the space race, and other biographical aspects of Funk's career as a pilot and air accident investigation lead, I found very interesting. The parts of the book where the author details her travels with the subject, and the romantic nature of 'will she become a space tourist and finally have her dreams come true' I found less compelling, for all that I can see this gave the book a human interest angle which would appeal to many. Nevertheless, it was well-written, made for a nice little read, and had plenty of content which'll stimulate further research on my part.

[Will Plunkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading, as we get older, is harder to learn about things and people we didn't know ANYTHING about. As someone who followed "space stuff" as much as possible, I'm ashamed to admit I'd never even heard of the Mercury 13 before. Testing pilots for astronaut qualifications; sure. But women who not only tested but did well enough to be considered for inclusion; nope. The author comes off a bit of a wet blanket, trying to get Wally to act easier for Nelson to complete her work (interviews, radio recordings, travels, etc.), since Wally's questions and energy and wanderings and questions and driving and quirks can be overwhelming. Funny, insightful; even a nice travel log as the pair head to various space and flight locations.

[KrystalHenke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a difficult read, and hence was why I ultimately quit reading it.

Wally is a woman with one focus - and this focus was to her detriment. The author and the interviewer, Nelson, put Wally in a positive light, but despite this flattering adoring viewpoint, it's hard to not see the broken relationships and fall-out from Wally forming her identity around this one accomplishment, dream, and disappointment that are all tied together.

If nothing else it serves as a warning to the reader of what can become of a person who wholly devotes themselves to a goal, is denied, and refuses to move forward and on from it for decades. Resiliency does not look like doggedly churning in what was and sucking everyone around you into it.

It broke my heart.

[Jo Hartlen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting. The author gives a personal account of her friendship formed with Wally and their interactions and travels together but details Wally's life, career, achievements and ambitions. Wally is a remarkable person who's really inspirational and every so slightly nutty. The book contains a wealth of information on the space race and the roles of women astronauts (eventually) within that.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really hope Wally gets to go up in SpaceShip Two. Sometimes Nelson goes too much into their personal interactions, which drags the book a little, even though it's relatively short. Otherwise a relaxed longform profile of one of the most accomplished people you might learn about along with a broad view of world space exploration from the 60s up until now.

[J.F. Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought it this morning, had finished it by this evening: a really interesting book told in an unusual way- a road trip with a difference, providing a fascinating introduction to the 'Mercury 13' and the abandoned 'Women in Space' programme, told in a wonderfully informal style. Inspirational stuff. I now need to know more...!

[Robert Barone · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing person she is. She had so many firsts in the field of aviation. It's too bad the government decided to shut down the female astronaut program back in the 60's. Also too bad this book ended before Wally finally made it to space in 2021, becoming the oldest person at that time until William Schattner went to space

[Sarah Nimmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous story of a friendship

Wally Funk comes to life in this book, as a force of nature - delightful, infuriating, almost certainly exhausting - you can’t help but hope she lives her dream and makes it to space.

[Simon Treen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual take on a biography but nonetheless engaging and well paced. Wally is a remarkable person and the book does a great job of conveying her energy and personality.

I really hope that Wally gets her opportunity to become an astronaut.