Summer Reading

The Right Stuff - Tom Wolfe (1979)

'The Right Stuff' is Tom Wolfe's answer to why a man sits on a firework and why public admiration for the Mercury 7 astronauts literally took off (oh,I'm sure I can get sky high in here somewhere too). Wolfe catalogues the beginnings of the US Space Program with boyish enthusiasm and never misses a chance to get in some pilot lingo; he is openly admiring of the 'right stuff' of flight testers, particularly Chuck (first man to go supersonic in flight and assent) Yaeger and provides an entertaining history.

The titular 'right stuff' these pilots possess boils down to unassailable egos that in turn gives rise into physical invincibility. The young men do not fear the statistic that tells them that 23% of naval pilots die in accidents (this doesn't include combat, which the US Navy wisely considers never to be accidental), they are unflappable when their friends around them are dying (rather horribly), and they have little care for the damage their jobs do to home life - they just buckle up and try to go that little bit faster - "push the envelope" to use Wolfe's euphemism.

The astronaunts don't quite have the same pizazz as the career test pilots- despite their bravery and achievements, not least enduring rectal thermometers and lots of enemas. They seem, to Wolfe at least, to have some how circumvented the cult of the righteous despite the fact that Gordo Cooper was so relaxed that actually fell asleep in his capsule before his launch. They are both the pinnacle of 'the right stuff' and its downfall, though they abide by esoteric warrior ethics and have very shiny suits.

It's a fantastic read; enlightening, informative and slightly gossipy whilst exuding respect. To have the right stuff is to be a colossus bestride a world of ants. Ants that can't fly and wouldn't even dare... mostly because they are bloody sane!