James R. Hansen

Professor of History & Director,
  The University Honors College

Auburn University

Ralph B. Draughon Library
Auburn University, AL 36849
Phone: 334-844-5860
Fax: 334-844-5885
Click here to e-mail

 

Review Quotes about James R. Hansen's
FIRST MAN: THE LIFE OF NEIL A. ARMSTRONG
(Simon & Schuster, 2005)   

"Even if you think you know everything about Neil Armstrong and America's historic mission to be the first to land men on the Moon, this remarkable book by Dr. James Hansen contributes a host of fascinating new insights into not only the character of Apollo 11's enigmatic commander but also into the nature of the spacefaring enterprise itself. It is a book for all time."--Walter Cronkite

"Let it be said at once that his book is an outstanding success.... Immaculately researched and packed with detail, but written in a way that will appeal to readers of all kinds.... This is an important book, and should be in every scientific library.”--Sir Patrick Moore, London Times Educational Supplement

“A fine authorized biography brimming with groundbreaking research, fresh anecdotes and fair-minded analysis. . . . Hansen should be commended for decoding the enigmatic Armstrong: a space hero short on words but sky-high on Midwestern integrity.”--Douglas Brinkley, The New York Times Book Review

“[Hansen’s] mastery of detail is put to splendid use. The narrative of the moon mission is crisp and dramatic, the science clear. He deftly takes us back into those few days of global fascination with the adventure of the three distant voyagers, and the tense uncertainty about how it would turn out. The moon landing is old mental furniture for everyone of Baby Boom age and older….I finished Hansen's Apollo story with a wholly fresh sense of awe at the magnitude of NASA's achievement…. a compelling and nuanced portrait of the astronaut…. to understand Armstrong on his own terms is to see a large truth of our time.”—James Tobin, Chicago Tribune

Click here for further review quotes
 

James R. Hansen at SimonSays, official publishers site

James R. Hansen Speakers Page at the American Program Bureau

The Auburn University Honors College

NEWS RELEASES

November 2008
Watch Waterstone's 'Armstrong' commercial by CHI & Partners

November 1, 2008
USAToday.com - Neil Armstrong donating his papers to Purdue

April 2, 2008
Universal Puts First Man on the Moon

May 15, 2008
Hansen to speak on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at the Alabama Department of Archives and History

January 26, 2007
AU professor's book on Neil Armstrong honored by Choice magazine

December 2, 2005
Neil Armstrong's Biographer Visits Langley

January 23, 2003
AU Historian Writing Neil Armstrong Biography

September 23, 1998
AU Historians to Lead National Aerospace Conference

January 19, 1996
AU Historian Examining if US Golf is Par with Environment
 


Click on the book covers for more information



 


 

Download
The Wind and Beyond, Vol. II


                                                 Photo Credit: NASA
 
Enchanted Rendezvous: John C. Houbolt and the Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept


This page last updated 11/11/08


                                                                               Photo Credit: NASA

Hansen speaks at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia