Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The first astronauts were chosen in 1959. They were military test pilots who were eager to fly in space. They were terrified of public exposure, but they were willing to accept it to fly in space.

#2 When World War II ended, Gus was discharged from the Air Force. He married Betty in 1945, and the couple began their life together in Mitchell. But jobs were scarce, and good jobs rarer still.

#3 Gus knew that his career would not have been possible without a supportive wife at home. Betty was as much a part of his success as he was. She liked to joke that she had earned a P. H. T. , Putting Hubby Through.

#4 In the late 1950s, America was engaged in a new conflict: spaceflight. The initial battle over satellites was winding down, and now the goal was manned spaceflight under the federal government's new agency, NASA.