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Apollo 13 EECOM Sy Liebergot's Apollo EECOM
Now Shipping!
Working directly with Sy Liebergot, we're
delighted to offer the most definitive book from the
Project Apollo flight controller's perspective written by Sy Liebergot
(contributing editor,
David M. Harland) with
forewords by Ron Howard, Director of the motion picture Apollo 13 and his
brother Clint, the actor who portrayed Sy. SIGNED by Sy Liebergot, who has added
the title EECOM Apollo 13 to his signature.
Hardbound, 216 pages, with 150 photos, plus an amazing CD-ROM
with 4 hours of audio of the flight controllers loop from Apollo 13 and 15. The
CD also includes an audio roast of Gene Kranz and Sy Liebergot which Sy tells us
was created by astronaut John Young. Over half of the book relates to Sy's
experiences as a flight controller with emphasis of course on Apollo 13, while
the other 40% deals with more personal aspects of his life. The entire book is
an insightful and exciting tale including much information on Project Apollo
that has never before been shared. This is the insider's book on Apollo Flight
Control.
A book not to be missed. Cost is $45 plus shipping.
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Reviewer comments:
Ron Howard: My whole perception of the
film Apollo 13 shifted when I went on my first research trip to the
Johnson Space Center and sat in the MOCR
with a dozen of the flight controllers who had been involved in the
mission, including Sy Liebergot. I had always understood the original
screenplay as a heroic survival story of three brave astronauts. However,
while listening to these men reflect on their role in the crisis, I began
to realize not only could the movie accomplish that truth but also shed
light on the heroics of the men of Mission Control. Not Rambo-like,
acrobatic heroics of violence but instead, the heroics of the application
of accrued knowledge, combined with a tremendous emotional personal
drive. I had come upon a directorial opportunity to dramatize the power
of the mind; a mind applied under great stress. It might not be leaping
from building to building but what the flight controllers did was a
Herculean accomplishment. It was a great test and those tests always
make great drama. A key moment in the mission, dramatically speaking, was
the moment Sy, portrayed by my brother Clint in the film, had when his
recommendation from the EECOM console was to shut a fuel cell’s reactant
valves. The objective of the mission was landing on the Moon and Sy's
call not only ended that, but also gave full dimension of the disaster
they were facing. Aside from his involvement in Apollo 13, Sy's life
experiences should be held as an example of achievement. Young people
ought to read this book and take note of a life well done.
--Ron Howard, Director of the Apollo
13 film
Clint Howard: I’ve had many perks in
my forty-plus years in the entertainment business but few rise above the
friendship that developed with Sy Liebergot. I remember the nervous
anticipation I had prior to my first phone call with Sy. I was getting a
chance to quiz the man I was to play as White EECOM in the film, Apollo 13
and I didn't want to come off as a fool. As we talked, I remember Sy being
very patient with me. I also remember him saying something that would be
a huge help for me preparing for the role, "I was no steely eyed missile
man, that's for sure." Sy was very humble, referring to himself as just
an engineer and although he was a veteran of the manned space program, he
recounted the lack of bravado he felt during the days of crisis on Apollo
13. After getting to know Sy over the years and now having read his
memoirs, I realize what a remarkable man he is. I know he'll never say
this about himself, but Sy Liebergot is a hero. Heroes rise above personal
adversity to make great achievements. From where Sy came to what he's
made of his life is a great achievement. NASA gave a young man, fresh out
of college, an opportunity to be part of a new frontier and Sy didn't
disappoint. To be part of a team that started with a blank sheet of paper
and developed the hardware and procedures for manned space travel is
pretty special.
--Clint Howard, White EECOM, Apollo 13
film
Jim Lovell: ...an outstanding example
of the opportunities available in the United States. Sy takes us through
his troubled past to earning his wings as a key player in our journeys to
the Moon.--Jim Lovell, Commander, Apollo 13
Fred Haise: A question that I have
often been asked about my Apollo 13 experience is, were you concerned?
..... or by young children who tend to say exactly what they are thinking,
did you think you would die? Most people have a hard time accepting my
answer of no and that my strongest emotion was one of great
disappointment. The story of an APOLLO EECOM should enable the readers to
understand. You will appreciate, as I did, that there was Sy and others of
the team in Mission Control that were truly dedicated and highly skilled
to deal with challenges and routinely pull off minor miracles ....... the
Apollo 13 Mission saga. -- Fred Haise, Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 13
Jack Schmitt: Sy Liebergot adds
another human face to the hundreds of thousands of dedicated young men and
women and their families who were the core of the Apollo Program. Sy
tells many of the stories that I remember, many I had forgotten, and many
more I never knew. Revisiting in my mind the MOCR, the SPAN Room, The
Singin' Wheel, and the Hofbraugarten with hundreds of old friends and
saviors has been a delight!
--Harrison H. Schmitt, aka Jack
Schmitt, Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot, former U.S. Senator (NM)
Jack Lousma: The story of Sy’s life
demonstrates that if one “hitches up his ‘git-along’” he can “make it” in
America, no matter where he starts from. Atta boy! --Jack Lousma, Apollo
Skylab astronaut
Michael Lennick: The Apollo missions
remain humanity's greatest and most stirring technical achievement. Their
complexity and enormity of scale have always been a barrier to full public
comprehension. Sy cuts through all that. He tells a huge story from a
singularly human perspective, letting us imagine what it would have been
like to be a part of some of the greatest - and most nerve-wracking -
moments in history. He puts you in the room. -- Michael Lennick, Producer,
Discovery Channel"
Charles Murray and Catherine Cox: In
the years when Americans went to the Moon, Mission Control was a place
where life and death decisions had to be made in seconds. Apollo EECOM is
written by a man who saw it all and was at the vortex of the greatest
crisis that Mission Control ever faced. Sy Liebergot tells the story of
Apollo 13 as no one else could. -- Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox,
authors of Apollo: The Race to the Moon
Jeffrey Kluger: Astronauts and flight
directors may have been the Apollo program's royalty, but it was the men
in the flight controllers' seats who truly made the missions fly. Sy
Liebergot tells the thrilling tale of one such man--himself--with grace,
wit and skill. Liebergot's life has been one of high drama and grand
adventure; his book is no less gripping. --Jeffrey Kluger, Co-author,
Apollo 13
Andy Chaikin: The world knows Sy
Liebergot as one of the steel-nerved experts in Mission Control who helped
save Apollo 13. Now he reveals, in his own words, that his entire life
was preparation for that moment of truth. Sy's account is harrowing,
touching, and inspiring-- his story gives new meaning to the phrase,
'Failure Is Not An Option.' -- Andrew Chaikin, author of A Man on the
Moon
David M. Harland: ...not just another
rave about the good old days of NASA and the Apollo program, it is a true
autobiography and, in my opinion, is going to be a landmark in the flight
operations community as an insider’s Murray & Cox (authors of Apollo: The
Race To the Moon). --David M. Harland, space historian
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