Deke!

Product Description

Deke Slayton was one of the first seven Mercury astronauts--and he might have been the first American in space. Instead, he became the first chief of American Astronaut Corps. It was Deke Slayton who selected the crews who flew the Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab missions. It was Deke Slayton who made Neil Armstrong the first man on the moon.

Deke! is Deke Slayton's' story--told in his own words and in the voices of the men and women who worked with him and knew him best. Deke Slayton's knowledge of how the .S. manned space program worked is the missing piece of every space buff's puzzle. Now, after decades of silence, he tells his priceless stories of those years when American was engaged in the greatest voyage of exploration in human history.

Top Reviews

Really Good Details We've All Missed
by Erl Gould Purnell (5 out of 5 stars)
December 4, 2019

Deke Slayon was always an enigmatic character among the original Mercury 7 astronauts. I followed them intensely, especially as I trained to be a Naval Aviator with fantasies of space flight. (Didn't happen although I was a maintenance test pilot.)

Deke didn't fly until ASTP in 1975 and so never on Mercury, Gemini or Apollo. That said, he was a force within the cadre of NASA astronauts. In fact, most astronauts selected after the original seven were selected with the guidance of Deke Slayton. He was a behind the scenes mover and shaker in the astronaut office...and all for the good and betterment of the manned space flight program.

The positive impact Slayton had on manned space flight cannot be overstated. He was there making the rules and following up on procedures. At heart a compassionate guy (Gus Grissom was his best friend and a deeply felt loss when he died), he could and did make tough decisions and call people out when necessary. If you're playing a field game, you want to be on Deke Slyton's team, plain and simple.

Slayton's post-NASA career was less stellar and less interesting. Besides some airplane racing, he was involved in a few private space launch companies in the early 1980's, way before SpaceX et al. His personal life got a bit squirrelly and then very smooth. We lost Deke Slayton way too early.

This book fills in myriad details about the early space flight program, including insights about what the Russians were up to, which I've never known. Really glad I read it!
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A behind-the-scenes tour with Deke
by Gary Schroeder (4 out of 5 stars)
July 7, 2013

Having devoured the complete Apollo canon of histories, biographies and autobiographies, I admit that I'd been putting this one off for some time. I suppose because Deke was a Mercury astronaut who never flew in that program and was barely an Apollo astronaut (if you see the Apollo-Soyuz test Project as actually being part of the Apollo project), I didn't think his story would be that compelling. Well, I confess now to being wrong and misinformed. This is a great addition to the Apollo story, not because of Deke's activities as an astronaut, but because of his unique position of being in charge of flight crew selection during Gemini and Apollo. Who decided that Neil Armstrong would be the first human to set foot upon the moon? Deke did.

The Apollo chronology is familiar and told in a fairly breezy style but there's a lot information here on astronaut personalities, social mechanics between them and unvarnished accounts of what Deke really thought about each of them. That's one of the things that really comes through this book: Deke's gruff but intelligent style. Why, you can almost feel the crew cut brushing you on the arm on some of the pages! While the book was co-written with Michael Cassutt, there is a great deal of authenticity in the book's style. Unlike other "assisted" autobiographies, Deke feels like the sole author here, not just a name on the cover. The language is plain and direct and the book is better for it.

If you're not already encyclopedically familiar with the 1960s Space Race, this is a great book from which to get an overview on the thrilling early days of manned spaceflight. From the selection of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, the incremental steps achieved in the Gemini program to the early missions of Apollo, you'll be right there (again or for the first time) with Deke as he recounts the journey from his unique viewpoint.
[A side note: I read the Kindle edition of this book and I have to say the print-to-digital conversion was a little off, particularly towards the later chapters. You could tell that OCR must have been used as letters and numbers that have similar shapes were often misinterpreted.]
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A must read for US Manned Spaceflight fans
by Edwin Yuen (5 out of 5 stars)
October 2, 2017

Definitely a must buy for anyone interested in Mercury to Apollo era spaceflight. This is literally the book that so many other historical books reference, so why not read the source. Why the base facts and revelations may not be new (because everyone else has been citing them), the context and background in which they present it make this book a must buy.
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Forgotten hero
by R. Crawford (4 out of 5 stars)
November 27, 2018

Deke Slayton was the "Original Seven" astronaut who didn't fly so for all but the most avid space and technology enthusiasts he is often forgotten. But that's a big mistake. As the head of the astronaut office for the rest of Mercury and for Gemini and Apollo and beyond, he was the boss of all those other high-testosterone fliers. He kept them motivated and on task for 10 years before he finally got to fly himself as part of Apollo-Soyuz.

His role was critical if unsung and this book is a reminder of how important he was to our quest to land on the moon.
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DEKE Slayton was THE MAN!!!
by M. Franta (5 out of 5 stars)
August 17, 2013

Donald Slayton - famously known for his professional acronym; DEKE - was a real honest-to-God leader in the field of rocket science and modern space aviation. He was a test pilot in the highest echelons of flight, yet he was raised on a humble farm, knowing that whatever he did in life impacted the lives of others.

He worked his hardest to do whatever it took to ensure success.

He was the sort of man who had the Midas touch - everything he touched turned to gold! It's true.

It is a wonder to me WHY these great men of Mercury, Gemini and APOLLO waited so danged long to publish their life stories. It would have been much better received had they published their memoirs earlier - when Apollo was still fresh in the minds of our great nation.

But I suppose they were just too danged busy to stop for a spell to report on their life mission.

Deke Slayton was one of the busiest men on our planet EARTH during his career with NASA. It's a shame that so many years slipped by before he collaborated with author Mike Cassutt to tell his life story.

So much of the emotions were dampened. This fabulous book wasn't published until 1994, and I just read it this week; August of 2013! WOW! So much of Astronaut Deke Slayton's memory was already vaporized when he took the action to talk about his space experiences that helped to shape NASA into the winning organization it became.

I loved reading this book because it explained so many things that I yearned to understand during the days of APOLLO. Did you know that Gus Grissom may have been the first man to step foot on the moon if he didn't die in that tragic fire on the launch pad of Apollo 1? It was just a practice mission, but those 3 men lost their lives on the launchpad, due to a faulty jumble of velcro and the 100% pure oxygen environment of the space capsule!

May they rest in peace and never be forgotten;

Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.

There are many tidbits of information regarding flight crew selection which I found to be very fascinating! It was purely chance WHO ended up being the first man on the moon and Neil Armstrong sure lucked out! Neil had the necessary qualifications & personality, there is no doubt about that, but I'm happy for him and Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins - who instantly became national heroes upon their successful moon mission way back in 1969.

WOW - can you believe it's been 44 years since the US successfully landed 2 men on the surface of the moon, and safely rocketed them back to our beautiful Earth? President Kennedy was a proud man in Heaven when this occurred.

Upon reflecting on his challenge to the nation to engage Russia in the space race, it was a crazy idea to get into a moon landing because we didn't have the first clue on how to achieve it! But it was a problem for the geniuses in our nation to achieve! The man responsible was Wernher Von Braun - (the genius ex-Nazi who first built the V2 rockets that pummeled London under Hitler.) But that's another story for another day! Let us not forget that President Nixon was the man in office when this monumental achievement of mankind was achieved!

Anyhow - get this book and be happy to read all the obscure but vitally important details that Deke Slayton has to offer you, the reader.

It is a shame how Deke died; it is interesting that it was his brain, not his heart, that was his undoing.

God bless Deke Slayton and NASA and our surviving small club of US astronauts who all have a story worth telling.
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Chronicle of our space origram
by Robert Goedjen (4 out of 5 stars)
September 21, 2019

Sort of a mixed bag. It is a wonderful chronicle of the USA space effort done in great detail and with personal viewpoint. A great book for anyone wanting to know the detail with a personal touch.. I considered it too long and too much detail but others might disagree. It would have been very helpful to have pictures included of the many spacecraft and test vehicles. I kept hoping they were in the appendix..
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Excellent book by one of the most influential people at early NASA
by Colin Brown,Top Contributor: Photography (4 out of 5 stars)
February 8, 2012

Deke! is an excellent book and a very easy read, giving details over the course of his life from childhood, through WW2, his long career at NASA and onto his work after retiring from NASA.

Deke Slayton was the person who assigned crews during the Gemini and Apollo missions after being grounded from the Mercury program due to a medical condition. Therefore he was one of the most influential people in the early days of NASA. This book gives valuable insight into how he chose the crews, the rotation system that was used etc. It also details his return to flight for the Apollo-Soyeuz mission that he flew.

Having read a great number of book on Mercury, Gemini and Apollo from both non-NASA authors and biographies from ex-astranauts I was surprised to see just how much contradiction there was in this book compared with the others. Now Deke was actually there rather some researcher who never took part in NASA, but so were the other astranauts biographies that I've read and given that most people say one thing then I read in Deke! that it's something else, I'm not entirely sure just how good Deke's memory of events were when he started to write this book in 1991. Some of these things are really just points of view rather than actual historical facts and therefore in no way detracts from the book. Infact it's good to read a new and fresh perspective on things.

Deke! is one of the better biographies I've read, not quite upto Flight by Chris Craft, Failure is not an option by Gene Kranz or Carrying the Fire by Mike Collins but is still definately worth reading and having in your collection.
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Deke America's head astronaut did it all. Incredible accomplishments
by Thomas Erickson (5 out of 5 stars)
January 23, 2010

"Deke" US Manned Space is one of the best books written about Donald Slayton and the entire space program from Mercury all the way through the Shuttle.

We see his military and test pilot career and astronaut head of astronaut selection and staffing for the flights. Later after retirement we see Deke racing Formula 1 airplanes, and becoming president of a small company trying to start commercial space launches.

Deke LOVED flying. He flew bombers in WW2 and fighters and had a lot of combat experience. Later he was a jet test pilot and was accepted into the start of the Astronaut program as one of the original Mercury 7. He gets detailed to NASA and achieves the rank of major in the Air Force. However he has a heart fibrillation and is grounded. With almost 19 total years of various military time he calls the big General Curtis Lemay. He says " General you leave me no choice...I must resign because you are grounding me". The general thinks Deke is crazy throwing away an Air Force retirement with only 1 year to go. That takes balls.

Deke stays in NASA as head of hiring astronauts and assigning them to various training and space flights. He misses his best friend Gus Grissom who he assigned with astronauts White and Chaffee to go on Apollo 1. They die in a horrible fire inside the spacecraft on the ground. Later he is the one to assign Neil Armstrong to be the first man on the moon. He assigns all the astronauts for various flights and is in charge of the selection process for the astronauts/astronaut scientists/ mission specialists and payload specialists. We see the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the moon landings, Apollo/Soyuz, Space Lab and the Shuttle programs. He is involved with all these programs. He stays grounded for years and years until he gets his heart fibrillation stabilized and then is cleared to fly. Finally he gets his big ride on an Apollo spacecraft for an Apollo /Soyuz combined American/Russian mission.

Deke is a workaholic .Deke marries twice but is a loving husband and father

that because of his job had to spend a lot of time from his family and that put a strain on things.

Deke did it all. A true hero. So much accomplished in a short period of time. He did so much for the entire world in the military and with the space program. This is one of the BEST astronaut books. Buy the book, learn and enjoy. Highest rating 5 stars... wish I could give 10 stars.
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Dale Slayton, the control behind astronaut egos
by DHorst (4 out of 5 stars)
December 27, 2018

Deke was always a part of each of the early astronaut autobiographies/biographies. He had the final say on selections and assignments for manning the flights. It was fascinating to hear HIS side of the stories I have read by other astronauts. The book moves quickly and doesn't center on any particular phase

of Deke's life. I had missed the fact Slayton had passed away from cancer. I'm thankful he was talked into laying the groundwork for this book before it was too late. A good read, filling in many of the facts about the crew choices for Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.
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It is hard not to really admire this man
by Lois Huneycutt (4 out of 5 stars)
June 9, 2009

My whole family has recently gotten interested in the early space program, adults right down to our 13 yr old son. Of all the astronaut biographies and auto-biographies out there, only Michael Collins' Carrying the Fire is any better. This one gives real insight into both the very admirable Deke Slayton himself, and the role he played in NASA in the 1960s through his retirement. It is clear that the man was human, and had his prejudices and opinions -- he didn't, for instance, think that anyone but test pilots had any business in space at least through the Apollo program. He was, as other astronauts have said, "a stand-up guy" who took responsibility for all his decisions, good and bad. He never gave up his dream of flying in space, and I am so glad he got to fly that Apollo-Soyuz joint mission. He was an admirable man, one that I am glad I got to know about and introduce to my children. The book is well-written, with a no-nonsense style and has flashes of humor. Slayton is not maudlin at all, but his account of the day the Apollo 1 astronauts died had me in tears. I could not read it aloud.

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