Narrated by Patrick Egan

Buzz Aldrin became the second human, minutes after Neil Armstrong, to set
foot on a celestial body other than the Earth. The event remains one of
mankind.s greatest achievements and was witnessed by the largest worldwide
television audience in history. In the years since, millions more have had
their Earth-centric perspective unalterably changed by the iconic photograph
of Aldrin standing on the surface of the moon, the blackness of space behind
him and his fellow explorer and the Eagle reflected in his visor. Describing
the alien world he was walking upon, he uttered the words .magnificent
desolation.. And as the astronauts later sat in the Eagle, waiting to begin
their journey back home, knowing that they were doomed unless every system
and part on board worked flawlessly, it was Aldrin who responded to Mission
Control.s clearance to take off with the quip, .Roger. Understand.
We.re number one on the runway..

The flight of Apollo 11 made Aldrin one of the most famous persons on our
planet, yet few people know the rest of this true American hero.s story.
In Magnificent Desolation, Aldrin not only gives us a harrowing first-person
account of the lunar landing that came within seconds of failure and the
ultimate insider.s view of life as one of the superstars of America.s space
program, he also opens up with remarkable candor about his more personal
trials.and eventual triumphs.back on Earth. From the glory of being part of
the mission that fulfilled President Kennedy.s challenge to reach the moon
before the decade was out, Aldrin returned home to an Air Force career
stripped of purpose or direction, other than as a public relations tool
that NASA put to relentless use in a seemingly nonstop world tour. The twin
demons of depression and alcoholism emerged.the first of which Aldrin
confronted early and publicly, and the second of which he met with denial
until it nearly killed him. He burned through two marriages, his Air Force
career came to an inglorious end, and he found himself selling cars for
a living when he wasn.t drunkenly wrecking them. Redemption came when he
finally embraced sobriety, gained the love of a woman, Lois, who would become
the great joy of his life, and dedicated himself to being a tireless advocate
for the future of space exploration.not only as a scientific endeavor but also
as a thriving commercial enterprise.

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