Apollo Pilot

The Memoir of Astronaut Donn Eisele

By: Donn Eisele

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

In October 1968 Donn Eisele flew with fellow astronauts Walt Cunningham and Wally Schirra into Earth orbit in Apollo 7. The first manned mission in the Apollo program and the first manned flight after a fire during a launch pad test killed three astronauts in early 1967, Apollo 7 helped restart NASA's manned-spaceflight program.

Known to many as a goofy, lighthearted prankster, Eisele worked his way from the US Naval Academy to test pilot school and then into the select ranks of America's prestigious astronaut corps. He was originally on the crew of Apollo 1 before being replaced due to injury. After that crew died in a horrific fire, Eisele was on the crew selected to return Americans to space. Despite the success of Apollo 7, Eisele never flew in space again, as divorce and a testy crew commander led to the three astronauts being labeled as troublemakers.

Unbeknownst to everyone, after his retirement as a technical assistant for manned spaceflight at NASA's Langley Research Center in 1972, Eisele wrote in detail about his years in the Air Force and his time in the Apollo program. Long after his death, Francis French discovered Eisele's unpublished memoir. Listeners can now experience an Apollo story they assumed would never be written as well as the story behind its discovery.

©2017 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A posthumous memoir gives an unsung astronaut his due." ( Kirkus)

fascinating look at Apollo 7

I would have listened to this just because Kevin Pierce narrated it. I love him as a narrator. This was a fascinating look at the Apollo 7 mission. A bit short but very interesting listen. A great look at history.

Kevin Pierce as always did a wonderful job. Very enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

this is hard for me to review.

I loved reading about anything Apollo. watched all the movies, the Docs about it, read books on it.
I loved that this really let you know what happened in space. and it was told from the astronauts point of view. almost step by step. I loved learning about that.
but it was boring at lot of parts. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Apollo pilot

A fine read to remind us of unsung heroes of our space program.. Also a part of the space program not known by a younger generation.

I was spellbound from the beginning to the end

What did you love best about Apollo Pilot?

It felt as though it could be Donn sitting in front of you telling you his story. I just loved it!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Apollo Pilot?

The chapter by Donn's wife towards the end where she talks about their life after the mission was surprisingly enrapturing and emotional.

Any additional comments?

I loved that this book showed that astronauts are just normal flawed people who have the drive and opportunity to do something amazing.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, it sounded like an interesting but I wasn't expecting a 5 star book. I had to force myself to stop the book and sleep and I would gladly listen to this book again.

Kevin did and excellent job with the narration, he has a lovely voice and the narration was smooth and consistent.

Note: This book was provided free by the author/narrator/publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Very well written and engaging

To be honest the main reason that I requested this book was because Kevin Pearce was the narrator. He is becoming one of my favorite narrators he brings something special to every book that I hear him read. I am so very glad that I requested this book because I truly found it to be informative as well as entertaining. I received this review copy from the author publisher or narrator

A critical piece of the Apollo story

One is not suppose to cry at the end of an autobiography by an Apollo astronaut, but this book really hurt. Apollo 7 and Donn Eisele's life, though, is a tragedy. Apollo 7 was a highly successful mission, the first manned flight of the Apollo Command Module. Other books, especially from Mission Control personnel, speak poorly of Apollo 7 and its crew, but one needs to read all of the perspectives. Maybe we are all Donn Eiseles in our careers.

The only drawback is the narrator. Guido is not an Italian name, it is guidance officer. How do you mispronounce something so historic! 2-stars off. The other star off is for mispronouncing the start of many nouns, like "wanch" instead of "ranch." I wonder what Donn's real voice is like, as I wonder in all autobiographies.

I am very grateful to Francis French and Donn's second wife for making this book possible. It is a new book, copyright 2017.

History is what we build in our mind, and that should come only from eye-witness accounts, not historians. I strongly discourage reading books by historians. Remember, they are for profit authors, and rarely do the work to find eye-witness accounts. My father did something historic, and historians denied him the knowledge of his contribution before he died - killing Roland Freisler.

Be sure to read Michael Collin's book, too. Get on Amazon and find the first edition hardbacks of autobiographies. Read Collins's book about John Young (Gemini 10) and then John Young's book about Collins. The astronauts love talking about each other! The hardback books have pictures, references, and other information excluded from the audio book. Some audio books have additional content, like the Apollo 8 book, which I recommend. I also recommend "Go Flight!" which lead to an extensive Amazon order of autobiographies of flight controllers. Gene Kranz's book is also highly recommended.

I worked in Mission Control for 23 shuttle flights, so NASA history is important to me. 2018 is the 50th anniversary of Apollo. Bone up and be at a NASA center on December 21, 2018 to honor the first TLI. There is also a good documentary on DVD called "Mission Control." The best Apollo documentary is "For All Mankind."

A Hero I Knew Little About

Where does Apollo Pilot rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In Biographical audio books, within the Top Five.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Apollo Pilot?

In a general sense, a fresh look at the early days of manned space flight.

Have you listened to any of Kevin Pierce’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Oh yes. Kevin consistently adds so much to the titles he chooses to work on. His voice is like a combination of a comfortable easy chair and favorite sweater. Listeners can feel confident that his storytelling will be first rate.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I was actually able to do just that. I recall the space race vividly from my youth.

Any additional comments?

An interesting perspective, a fresh one for anyone interested in the subject. The pioneers in space were true heroes. Donn Eisele's story gives the human side of that group's public adulation and their All American personas.


Thanks for the opportunity to review it!

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost. Which I can only assume was voluntary on their part. I am happy to give my honest review of it. I think I'm suppose to mention how reviewing this was voluntary on my part too.

First hand account of space

Apollo 7 was the first manned Apollo mission into space, and did a significant amount of testing and prep work ahead of the famous Apollo 11 moon landing. Without this flight the more famous later flight would not have happened. And this is the first hand account of that flight.

Compiled from several incomplete attempts at writing a memoir, "Apollo Pilot" is a posthumous account of Donn Eisele's 1968 space flight in Apollo 7. The majority of the book (about 2/3rds of the already short book) covers the preparation, takeoff, flight in space and return, but covers little of Eisele's life after the flight. It also includes a post script by Eisele's second wife providing details about how and when he wrote the memoir, as well as details on his treatment by NASA (and her treatment as the first of the "second wives" by the Astronaut Wives Club). It also includes a historical section, written by Francis French, regarding the history of the space race and Apollo 7's importance within the whole story.

The book is short but doesn't fell like it is missing anything significant. It provides more than enough detail get an understanding of the flight and Eisele's impressions of the Apollo rocket, NASA etc. It's engaging and interesting throughout. A quick, interesting read.

Narration by Kevin Pierce is good. Well paced, engaging and easy to listen to. I have listening to a fair few books by Pierce and have enjoyed some more than others. This is one of his I really enjoyed, as I often find him much better on non-fiction books.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

great story<br />

Wonderful account of NASA s forgotten astronaut, Donn Eisele. Wish he would have lived to finish it.

Apollo Pilot

Apollo Pilot: The Memoir of Astronaut Donn Eisele
: Donn Eisele


I love to learn more of the early space exploration from the perspective of those who were there. I live 30 miles from Cosmosphere Space Museum, and after listening to this makes me want to visit to see what more I can learn.




The narration was well done. Kevin Pierce is a delight to listen to read. A wonderful way to pass a cold winter day.



"I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator."