"Magnificent Desolation"
Details
Forty years ago Buzz Aldrin became the second human, minutes after Neil Armstrong, to set foot on a celestial body other than the Earth, fulfilling President Kennedy’s challenge to reach the moon before the decade was out. The Apollo 11 moon landing remains one of mankind’s greatest achievements and was witnessed by the largest worldwide television audience in history. In the years since, millions more have had their Earth-centric perspective forever changed by the iconic “Visor” photograph of Buzz Aldrin standing on the surface of the moon, the blackness of space behind him and his fellow explorer and the Eagle reflected in his helmet’s visor. At this moment in time, describing the alien world he was walking upon, Aldrin poetically uttered the words “magnificent desolation.”
The flight of Apollo 11 made Aldrin one of the most famous persons on our planet, yet few people know the rest of this true American hero’s story. In Magnificent Desolation, Aldrin not only gives us a harrowing first person account of the lunar landing that came within seconds of failure, he also opens up with remarkable candor about his more personal trials battling depression and alcoholism back on Earth. Redemption and eventual triumph came when he embraced sobriety and gained the love of a woman, Lois Driggs, who would become his wife and the great joy of his life. With her indomitable enthusiasm fueling this once and forever spaceman, Aldrin dedicated his rocket science mind to advocating new paths for future space exploration.
As a narrative of mankind’s greatest adventure, a searing memoir of self-destruction and self-renewal, and as a visionary cry to now once again set mankind’s course for Mars and beyond, Magnificent Desolation is the thoroughly human story of one of the world’s most enduring and beloved heroes. Buzz Aldrin reminds us just how far it is possible for a person to journey to higher places throughout every aspect of life.
Autographed copies available HERE
The flight of Apollo 11 made Aldrin one of the most famous persons on our planet, yet few people know the rest of this true American hero’s story. In Magnificent Desolation, Aldrin not only gives us a harrowing first person account of the lunar landing that came within seconds of failure, he also opens up with remarkable candor about his more personal trials battling depression and alcoholism back on Earth. Redemption and eventual triumph came when he embraced sobriety and gained the love of a woman, Lois Driggs, who would become his wife and the great joy of his life. With her indomitable enthusiasm fueling this once and forever spaceman, Aldrin dedicated his rocket science mind to advocating new paths for future space exploration.
As a narrative of mankind’s greatest adventure, a searing memoir of self-destruction and self-renewal, and as a visionary cry to now once again set mankind’s course for Mars and beyond, Magnificent Desolation is the thoroughly human story of one of the world’s most enduring and beloved heroes. Buzz Aldrin reminds us just how far it is possible for a person to journey to higher places throughout every aspect of life.
Autographed copies available HERE
