Light This Candle: The Life and Times of Alan Shepard - Paperback

by Neal Thompson (Author)

The definitive biography of Alan Shepard, America's first man in space, with a new Foreword by Chris Kraft

"One of the finest books ever written about the space program."--Homer Hickan, author of Rocket Boys

"A wonderful and gripping biography . . . meticulously reported in the best tradition of David Halberstam."--Buzz Bissinger, New York Times bestselling author of Friday Night Lights

Alan Shepard was the brashest, cockiest, and most flamboyant of America's original Mercury Seven, but he was also regarded as the best. Intense, colorful, and dramatic, he was among the most private of America's public figures and, until his death in 1998, he guarded the story of his life zealously.

Light This Candle, based on Neal Thompson's exclusive access to private papers and interviews with Shepard's family and closest friends--including John Glenn, Wally Schirra, and Gordon Cooper--offers a riveting, action-packed account of Shepard's life.

Front Jacket

Alan Shepard was the brashest, cockiest, and most flamboyant of America's original Mercury Seven, but he was also regarded as the best. Intense, colorful, and dramatic, he was among the most private of America's public figures and, until his death in 1998, he guarded the story of his life zealously.
"Light This Candle, based on Neal Thompson's exclusive access to private papers and interviews with Shepard's family and closest friends--including John Glenn, Wally Schirra, and Gordon Cooper--offers a riveting, action-packed account of Shepard's life.

Author Biography

Neal Thompson is a veteran journalist who has worked for the Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Inquirer, and St. Petersburg Times. He has also written for numerous national magazines, including Outside, Men's Health, Backpacker, and the Washington Post Magazine. Thompson lives with his wife and their two sons in Asheville, North Carolina, where he teaches at the University of North Carolina and is writing a book about moonshine, NASCAR, and the South. Visit his website at www.nealthompson.com.