Light This Candle

"One of the finest books ever written about the space program. On nearly every page of this fine book, I learned something new. Neal has given Shepard’s unique humanity a chance to emerge from not only the legend that NASA built around him but the one he built around himself. Alan Shepard, it turns out we didn’t know you, after all. Light this candle, indeed." —Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys

“Wonderful and gripping …The can’t-put-it-down story of a modern swashbuckler determined to conquer the universe whatever the risk. In Thompson’s hands, an amazing life, the ultimate American life, comes alive so exquisitely.” —Buzz Bissinger, New York Times bestselling author of Friday Night Lights

“Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle.” —Alan Shepard to NASA technicians, at liftoff for America’s first manned spaceflight

“Just what a biography should be: sharp, evocative, and brisk.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Thompson provides the fullest portrait [of Shepard] yet. Does much to illuminate the life and personality of perhaps the most private and complex member of the Mercury Seven.” —Library Journal