Posts: 49013
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 02-04-2022 07:21 PM               

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Upcoming from the Outward Odyssey series:

Son of Apollo: The Adventures of a Boy Whose Father Went to the Moon
by Christopher Roosa
Forward by James Lovell

Christopher A. Roosa grew up the eldest son of Apollo 14 astronaut and command module pilot Stuart A. Roosa. As a child of the space program, Christopher had a ringside seat at the dinner table of one of twenty-four Americans who had either entered lunar orbit or landed on the moon.

The first book written by an offspring of an Apollo astronaut to focus on growing up in that era, Son of Apollo tells the inside story of the life of his father, a man who had a remarkable career despite always believing his air force career was "off-track," from his initial application to the service to his removal from the prime crew of Apollo 13 and his subsequent assignment to Apollo 14.

During the Apollo 13 mission and recovery, Stuart played an integral role in developing the procedures to return the crew to Earth safely. The focus — and the pressure — of the entire Apollo program then shifted to the Apollo 14 mission. If the Apollo program was to continue, Stuart and the Apollo 14 crew would need to get safely to the moon, land, and return.

In writing about his father's career, Christopher Roosa also shows us a familial side of the Apollo experience, from the daily struggles of growing up in the shadow of a father who was necessarily away in training most of the year to the expectations involved in being an astronaut's son. Roosa's story shows the Apollo era was the result not only of thousands of scientists and engineers working steadfastly toward achieving an assassinated president's national goal but also the families who supported them and lived the missions in their own way.

• Hardcover, 176 pages
  
• University of Nebraska Press (November 1, 2022)
  
• ISBN-10: 1496233344
  
• ISBN-13: 978-1496233349

Posts: 1789
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005

Posts: 2136
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 02-04-2022 10:32 PM               

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I must admit I've been keeping this new book under wraps for a while until the publication process was well under way — which it now is.

Christopher and his (Australian) wife and children are currently living here in Sydney for the next three or so years before moving back to the States, so we've had a good chance over the past few months to discuss the book, get in contracted and under way, and it will be released by UNP later this year.

It's the story of a boy growing up as the son of a test pilot, smoke jumper and Apollo astronaut, and what that meant — in all its different ways — to him and his mother and siblings. It's a deeply personal story and one which I thoroughly enjoyed working to bring to book form with Christopher.

He decided to write the book while serving on the front line in Afghanistan, just in case something happened to him and his young children never got to know him or his story.

Posts: 300
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 02-05-2022 01:05 AM            

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Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!! I have been wanting an "Apollo kids" book for ages. With all respect, Rosemary Roosa's book didn't really hit the mark for me. It's too much of a 'travelogue' of all the famous people she schmoozed with after Stu left the program and then, unfortunately, died.

I am eagerly anticipating this new book. I have always wondered (hint, hint) why the Outward Odyssey series didn't do a compilation of a number of Apollo kids' experiences (Sue Ellen Bean, Dionne Stafford, the Armstrong boys etc).

That said, I cannot wait for Christopher Roosa's book!!

Posts: 2136
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003

Posts: 300
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 09-04-2022 05:56 AM            

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I see that Outward Odyssey is about to release a biography of Stuart Roosa authored by his eldest son, Christopher.

Maybe my issues are best addressed to Colin Burgess. I am a huge supporter of the Outward Odyssey series and have all editions, but I am unsure about this one mainly because of the prior existence of "To The Moon" written by Roosa's daughter, Rosemary. I generally take issue with books on the same subject matter, or multiple bios by or about the same person; as a (loose) example I was skeptical about Worden's second bio "The Light of Earth" after his earlier "Falling to Earth". Happily, my skepticism was unfounded: TLOE was great.

But does anyone know how Christopher Roosa's book differs from Rosemary Roosa's book, particularly as Christopher's book - not quite so accurately - bills itself as "the first book written by an offspring of an Apollo astronaut to focus on growing up in that era."

Is this because Rosemary's book (which I didn't enjoy, by the way) is really a "travelogue" of all the famous people she met in later life partly because of the Roosa name?

Does Christopher's book truly focus on his time as the child of an Apollo-era astronaut? I had expected much more in this regard from Rosemary's book.

Just wondering what I'll get out of Christopher's book that I wouldn't have got from Rosemary's? (I'm assuming "Smokejumper" is sufficiently different as it focuses on Stu Roosa's career and not the family life.)

Editor's note: Threads merged.

Posts: 2136
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 09-04-2022 07:06 AM               

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Henry, the easiest way for me to answer your query is to direct you to a recent blog by my old mate Francis French, who wrote a piece on that very question.

You'll find it here.