How long does it take to read First Man?
James R. Hansen
First Man by James R. Hansen takes about 14 hours 22 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 14 hours 22 minutes
A week or two of reading
First published 2005. 784 pages, about 215,600 words.
29 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 23 hours 57 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 14 hours 22 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 8 hours 59 minutes |
The page count is the median across 16 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
On July 20, 1969, the world stood still to watch 38-year-old American astronaut Neil A. Armstrong become the first person ever to step on the surface of another heavenly body. Upon his return to Earth, Armstrong was celebrated for his monumental achievement. He was also--as NASA historian Hansen reveals in this authorized biography--misunderstood. Armstrong's accomplishments as an engineer, a test pilot, and an astronaut have long been a matter of record, but Hansen's access to private documents and unpublished sources and his interviews with more than 125 subjects (including more than fifty hours with Armstrong himself) yield the first in-depth analysis of this elusive, reluctant hero. Hansen recreates Armstrong's flying career, from his combat missions over North Korea to his transatmospheric flights in the rocket-powered X-15 to the first-ever docking in space. For a pilot who cared more about flying to the Moon than he did about walking on it, Hansen asserts, Armstrong's storied vocation exacted a dear personal toll, paid in kind by his wife and children.--From publisher description.
Subjects: Space flight to the moon, Astronauts, Project Apollo (U.S.), Biography, History, Astronautes
