The Astronaut Wives Club: The Story of the Ladies Behind the Spacemen.

I'm not sure what it is about July, but I always think July = the Moon Landing. It was on July 20, 1969 to be precise.  Such an adventurous time! Was Neil Armstrong going to disappear in Moon dust? Would they be able to come back to earth? These were questions that were debated before and during the mission.

But what if that spaceman was your husband or Dad and you were waiting for them to come home? Lily Koppel's book The Astronaut Wives Club tells the other side of the story - from the wives' perspective. They too, had a part to play in the space race. They got to be involved in a lot of the PR, whether they wanted to or not. They had to present the perfect home and family life to LIFE magazine writers and photographers even if that was fiction.

Based on extensive interviews with the wives and a vast amount of research, Koppel presents an entertaining and thought provoking picture of these women who went from being military wives on desolate air bases to having tea with Jackie Kennedy in the White House. And all of this was taking place during the turbulent 1960's and 70's.  

Because the wives were living under NASA's shadow and living in 'Togetherville,'  life felt very different when their husbands got out of the space program. Finding out what happened to the couples and their families afterwards is another fascinating part of the story.

Definitively an inspiring story of the women who helped make history and the space race happen - even if it was mostly behind the scenes. I have read many books on the space program, and this one will be added to that shelf. I highly recommend it. 

An advanced reading copy of this title was received (well, grabbed really cause I was looking forward to this title) at the American Libraries Association (ALA) conference from the publisher.

Keith Richards - The Man, the Myth, the Musician, and the Junkie

In the age old question which rock group is better : the Beatles or the Rolling Stones - if you answer the Stones - this is the book for you.

Life by Keith Richards with James Fox, gives the Rolling Stone fan a glimpse into the creative and sometimes chemically enhanced mind of a founding member of the band. Richards is very straightforward on some issues (the music, his ex- girlfriend and Brian Jones), and cagey on others (Altamont.) It is amazing he remembers as much as he does and it is fun when he has others in his circle being interviewed about the topics at hand.

I must admit it is pretty wild reading about the crazy life on tour with the Stones in the 1970's. And it brings up (for me at least) the question of how much time was wasted on the drugs and how much original music was lost in the process. Keith is such a raconteur that he is even funny during the dark times of his excess. You keeping hoping he's gonna get out of the daze and back into his music. He goes into great detail on this and I will admit most of it was over my head since I'm not a guitarist. I would be curious to hear a musician's perspective on this part of the book. But I can hear the results - and have had his song "Happy" in my head for weeks.

At 564 pages, this is a long read, but Keith's humor and unique perspective make it worth while. Definitely a must read for anyone who is interested in the 60's and 70's music scene in England, and in one of the biggest rock bands of the last century. Just a warning - you might as well get your Stones music out when reading, because you will be hearing the songs in your head!
 
To continue with a Rolling Stones frenzy take a look at the Rolling Stone magazine issue 1105 from May 27th, 2010. There is an excellent article called  "Making of 'Exile on Main Street'"  by David Gates. Put out to coinside with the rerelease of the album (38 years old!) it has a lot of information in it on the creation process behind the album and it is very different from Keith's perspective which is fairly detailed in his book.
 
Get out your albums and CDs and let it bleed. A very good read.