Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Falling to Earth

Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey 2011

Al Worden was the command module pilot for the APOLLO 15 mission to the moon in 1971.  This is a memoir of his early life as a farm boy in Michigan and his military career in the Air Force followed by his career move to NASA. On the APOLLO 15 mission, the team spent six days orbiting the moon and Al Worden was alone in one of the capsules for three days. He also conducted the first space walk in deep space. Nine months after his return his crew was involved in a scandal about bringing postal covers in their personal gear when on the APOLLO 15 mission and profiting from the sale of these stamps. Al explains his side of the story and how he carried on his life and career after his retirement from NASA. An interesting read and his descriptions of the moon are fascinating!