posted 08-29-2015 05:17 AM               

Beloved American hero Buzz Aldrin reflects on the wisdom, guiding principles, and irreverent anecdotes he's gathered through his event-filled life — both in outer space and on earth — in this inspiring guide-to-life for the next generation.

Everywhere he goes, crowds gather to meet Buzz Aldrin. He is a world-class hero, a larger-than-life figurehead, best known of a generation of astronauts whose achievements surged in just a few years from first man in space to first men on the moon. Now he pauses to reflect and share what he has learned, from the vantage point not only of outer space but also of time: still a non-stop traveler and impassioned advocate for space exploration, Aldrin will be 86 in 2016.

No Dream Is Too High whittles down Buzz Aldrin's event-filled life into a short list of principles he values, each illustrated by fascinating anecdotes and memories, such as:

• Second comes right after first. NASA protocol should have meant he was first on the moon, but rules changed just before the mission. How he learned to be proud of being the second man on the moon.

• Look for opportunities, not obstacles. Buzz was rejected the first time he applied to be an astronaut. Failure is an opportunity to learn to do better.

• Always maintain your spirit of adventure. For his 80th birthday, Buzz went diving in the Galapagos and hitched a ride on a whale shark. He stays fit, energetic, and fascinated with life.

No Dream Is Too High is a beautiful memento, a thought-provoking set of ideas, and a new opportunity for Buzz Aldrin to connect with the masses of people who recognize his unique place in human history.

• Hardcover: 224 pages
  
• Publisher: National Geographic (April 5, 2016)
  
• ISBN-10: 1426216491
  
• ISBN-13: 978-1426216497

posted 04-05-2016 01:42 AM               

In "No Dream Is Too High," Aldrin (again working with writer Ken Abraham) acknowledges that for years, "being known as 'the second man on the Moon'" troubled him considerably.

...serious in discussing loyalty, friendship and interplanetary exploration, Aldrin writes touchingly of the three Apollo 1 astronauts who died in a launch pad fire in 1967: Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White, a longtime friend who had first encouraged Aldrin to apply to NASA as an astronaut. "I never had a chance to thank him for all that he meant to me or say good-bye," he writes of White.

Aldrin uses this tale to offer a piece of advice: "Take the time to make that phone call just to say hello, or to even write that note of encouragement," adding that this should be done in a handwritten note, not a text or email.