Guenter Wendt: The Unbroken Chain

The Unbroken Chain is the memoir of Guenter Wendt that was first published in 2001 by Apogee Books. Guenter Wendt was the "Pad Leader" who was in charge of the white-room, and was the last man who saw the astronauts before they blasted off into space. The reason I decided to read this book, was because of the unique aspects Guenter had that even your typical astronauts don't have. He worked at NASA from the beginnings of Mercury all the way to the Shuttle Program.

This book has countless stories of the astronauts as well as the pranks they would play on each-other. The most infamous of those pranks, was when Alan Shepherd gave Guenter a helment that said "Col. Guenter Klink" with swastikas on both sides. In his book he talks about NASA being angry at him, when it was all Shepherd's doing.

Another great asset, is the many photos that are provided in this book. If you are not familiar with some of the rockets and other things pertaining to NASA, the photos are a big help.

One of things that I will take away from reading this book is the fact a lesson anybody can apply in their own lives. If you want to succeed you have to make yourself be an important an integral part of the team. As aforementioned Guenter had friendships with many of the astronauts, and after he left NASA (post Gemini), and the astronauts did not want him to leave, and tried to get the New contractor to hire him. After the Apollo I tragedy, Deke Slayton and other influential astronauts succeeded in "persuading" North American Aviation" to give him back his old job.

The only disappointment I had with this book, was that there was no mention of his childhood or life in Germany. He did mention that he was a pilot during the Second World War. It is somewhat understandable because talking about Germany then is still controversial 60+ years later. Everything else he writes about makes up for that omission in spades.

I now conclude this post by saying that I recommend this book, especially if you are interested in NASA and people in general.