The Real Space Cowboys

In 1959, seven pilots were selected to train as America’s first astronauts. Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra and Deke Slayton accepted the country’s call to service and would become known at the Mercury Seven (M7). These men, who had jockeyed for the best flying jobs in the military, began competing for rides on rockets. Most would eventually vie for the ultimate ride to the moon. This was the dream – a chance to ascend to the top of the pyramid – a lion-hearted pilot’s deepest desire. Author Ed Buckbee, who has enjoyed a 40+ year association with the U.S. space program, follows these brave pioneers. Through time and personal friendships, he and Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra capture dreams of flying higher and faster and farther than anyone in the known universe. Readers are invited behind the scenes to witness the competition and the conflict between NASA engineers designing capsules and those who would pilot them. They were our first astronauts, they were voyagers. The path they blazed now shines for others: on a voyage that is a measure of the best in us all and the Mercury 7 were first. They are The Real Space Cowboys.