Reaching for the moon

I Walked on the Moon. This is my journey. It didn't begin when I stepped on board Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. It began the day I was born -- Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., whom everyone called Buzz. Becoming an astronaut took more than education, discipline, and physical strength. It took years of de...

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Main Author: Aldrin, Buzz
Other Authors: Minor, Wendell (Illustrator)
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: New York, NY : HarperCollins, c2005.
Edition: 1st ed.
Subjects:
Summary: I Walked on the Moon. This is my journey. It didn't begin when I stepped on board Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. It began the day I was born -- Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., whom everyone called Buzz. Becoming an astronaut took more than education, discipline, and physical strength. It took years of determination and believing that any goal is possible -- from riding a bike alone across the George Washington Bridge at age ten to making a footprint on the Moon. I always knew the Moon was within my reach -- and that I was ready to be part of the team that would achieve the first landing. But it was still hard to believe when I took my first step onto the Moon's surface. We all have our own dreams -- this is the story of how mine came true.
Physical Description: [40] p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
ISBN: 0060554452
0060554460 (lib. bdg.)
Author Notes: Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on January 20, 1930. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelors of Science in mechanical engineering, he completed U.S. Air Force pilot training in 1952 and flew over 60 combat missions during the Korean War. He received a Doctorate of Science in Astronautics from MIT. In 1963 NASA selected him as an astronaut. He served as backup pilot of the Gemini IX and as pilot for Gemini XII in 1966. He was made backup command module pilot for Apollo VIII and lunar module pilot for Apollo XI, the most famous flight in space history, which landed on the moon July 20, 1969.

Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon; Neil Armstrong, the first man, beat Aldrin by just 15 minutes. He completed his Air Force career as commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School, retiring from the Air Force in 1972. Since then he has served as a consultant and has written several books including Reaching for the Moon, Look to the Stars, The Return, Encounter with Tiber, Men from Earth, and Return to Earth.

(Bowker Author Biography)