The author raised reportage to dazzling original levels in his quest to discover what makes a man glide to the moon
Newspapers and magazines often provide an indispensable patronage for writers. The Right Stuff is one of several great books in this list that derive from the interaction of high journalism and a higher literary ambition. In 1972,Rolling Stone commissioned its star reporter to cover the launch of Nasa’s final Apollo moonshot, one of many moments that marked the stop of the 60s.
Tom Wolfe responded with what he later described as just “some ordinary curiosity. What was it, and he wondered,that would originate a man “willing to sit up on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone, and Atlas,Titan or Saturn rocket, and wait for someone to light the fuse?”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com