Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In the name of comprehensiveness, Lily Koppel sacrifices a lot, that being a deeper understanding of what it must have been like to be the wives of the astronauts, especially wives of the Mercury 7. In fact,the early pages devoted to the Mercury program are the best part of the book. Koppel probably would have produced a better, more in-depth, and more insightful examination had she focused on these early years. Just my opinion. Too, much of what she does cover we know already. Long periods of separation, check. Pressure on marriages, check. Horndog husbands (except for a few), check. Tears and breakdowns, check. Bossy NASA, check. There's a great book lurking in the subject, that's for certain. Unfortunately, this isn't it. Decent reportage at best. Perhaps a brilliant novelist whose long suit is psychological analysis will tackle the subject. Now, that might be an interesting book. And no index, no listing of astronauts and wives, nothing you would expect in a non-fiction book of this sort. The astronaut wives endured a lot and deserve better. A disappointment.