The Unbroken Chain

Apogee Books Space Series #20

by Guenter Wendt, Russell Still

A ground-shaking document of the glory days of manned space flight, this autobiography, told from the perspective of the launch pad, captures the birth and blossoming of NASA. Filled with colorful stories and anecdotes, many of which have never been published, this insider's account comes from the one man who worked side-by-side with—and was the last person seen by—the astronauts. From the altitude chamber and various simulators to the environmentally controlled white room, this life story is an unprecedented look into the early days and inner workings of man's space exploration.

Genres: Space, Biography, Science

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, quick account of space program history from Guenter Wendt, who managed the launchpad for many historic flights. Lots and lots of fun anecdotes make this more than just another standard retelling of the same space-history bullet points.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different perspective on the space race from Mercury to the Shuttle.
This is a short book so there is not a great amount of depth and it helps to have some prior knowledge is helpful going into this one.

[Alexander Boneff · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book on space and the Apollo era

[Nichole Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally! A history on manned spaceflight that was as good as Mullane's autobiography! Wendt did an amazing job at explaining some concepts that were still hard for me to grasp, even after reading several other accounts. I finally have a full understanding of the docking maneuver for the CSM and Lunar Module after launch! Wendt's other strength was his ability to point out the strengths in the other technicians of the rockets, and you really felt his genuine appreciation for the men who put us on the moon. If you want to start with a history of manned spaceflight, this is a great one to do it with!

[James C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting as it is a series of anecdotes by Guenter Wendt who was the pad leader at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. While I worked at the Kennedy Space Center, I had the opportunity to meet with Guenter several times when my work involved me to be at the launch pad to change out equipment or add new guidance computer memory. He even offered to share his lunch with me on one occassion. He is a very interesting person and was the right one for the pad leader's responsibilities.