Magnificent Desolation by Buzz Aldrin

Magnificent Desolation: A Long Journey Home from the Moon is the bestselling book by Buzz Aldrin.

Aldrin doesn't hold anything back as he tells the story of how his sudden fame, career, and his addictions nearly destroyed his life. On July 20, 1969, millions witnessed Neil Armstrong and Aldrin become the first two people on the moon and instant American heroes. Aldrin tells of what happened once they came home and how he and fellow astronauts became public relations assets for NASA and the Nixon administration. With a PhD from MIT, Aldrin had not only spent eight years training for the mission, but also helped developed technology needed for the mission. After the Apollo Program made way to the shuttle program he found the doors of NASA "pretty much closed." This would catapult Aldrin into a struggle with alcoholism and clinical depression over decades. This inspiring story exhibits Aldrin as a different, perfectly human kind of hero, giving readers a sympathetic look at a man eclipsed by his own legend.