The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel
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Last update: 04-23-2026
Top reviews from the United States
- danielle dA thrilling book that gives an insider's view of NASA and its space shuttle astronauts.In her book, author Meredith Bagby provides an intimate look at the first class of NASA astronauts to include women and people of color. I was immediately drawn in by the personal stories of the astronauts. These are extraordinary people, but they are relatable too -- struggling with competition, office politics, love affairs and in one particularly disturbing case, racism. The author artfully intertwines the history of the space shuttle itself -- including the technical challenges of building a spacecraft -- with the safety and wellbeing of the astronauts in such a way that the book reads like a thriller. The technical and scientific parts of the book were compellingly written, even though I don't have a background in science or space. It all leads to a crescendo. When the Challenger and Columbia tragedies came to pass in the book, I felt close to the NASA players and astronauts, so the loss of the shuttle crews felt that much more devastating. The next part of the book concerns itself with getting America back to space. I was inspired by the resilience and bravery of the astronauts who continued in the space program after losing their friends and the space shuttles they had once flown so confidently. By the time I finished the book, I was emotional, and optimistic about what humans can do when we work together. Highly recommend.
- BGThe truth is more fascinating than fictionSo glad I stumbled upon this book. I am generally a fiction girl but wow...no need to make up anything here. I had never heard this story in school or anywhere else for that matter. The 1978 astronaut class aka Class 8 was a really diverse group of people (first Asian American, gay person, African American) and this book does a really good job of telling their individual stories, collective stories, as well as stories about NASA and our space program. The author does a good job of telling this stories in an organized and thoughtful matter. Definitely worth the read!
- David ChudwinAmbitious history of the Space Shuttle and the astronauts who flew itMeredith Bagby set herself a daunting goal—tell the story of the 1978 astronaut class, known as
TFNG, or Thirty Five New Guys, and the Space Shuttle program they crewed. Astronauts previously were
largely white, male test pilots; the TFNG more represented America with the inclusion of six females and
three African-Americans. The shuttle program, approved by President Nixon in 1972, first flew in
1981, and continued with 135 missions over the next thirty years. Two orbiters and their crews were lost
in 1986 (Challenger) and 2003 (Columbia).
Bagby accomplished this by interviewing 12 of the surviving TFNG class, 7 other astronauts,
relatives and friends of the deceased crew members, and former NASA officials, especially George
Abbey, the controversial director of flight operations and the “eminence grise” of the shuttle program.
The amount of information researched for this mammoth book is astounding--- the text of the book itself is 405 pages, but there are also 86 pages of fine point footnotes backing up almost every assertion in the text. As a writer, I cannot imagine processing the amount of information in the interviews and notes.
Yet “The New Guys” is well written, with clear descriptions of technical issues and empathy for
the people involved. The writing style is cinematic with each chapter comprised of several scenes.
Of course, despite the size of the book, not everybody could be included. Some of the TFNG are
barely mentioned, while others like the newsworthy six women and three African-Americans receive the
bulk of attention.
A reviewer should ask—is this just a cut-and-paste of some 30 years or is there any new ground?
While I was aware of much of the story, several items caught my eye. The most emotional story
to me was the description of the recovery of the remains of the Challenger crew, based on interviews
with astronaut Jim Bagian. I did not know that Ron McNair and his wife were nearly killed in September,
1981 when their car was rear-ended by a pickup. I learned that Ron and Rhea Seddon did not know how
to swim when they started their water egress training as AsCans (astronaut candidates).
It was a revelation that Sally Ride had a bad case of nerves the night before her first launch and
George Abbey arranged a brief visit with her Stanford girlfriend at the astronaut beach house. (Abbey is
such a commanding presence, he is the only one besides TFNG that Bagby refers to in the
text by his first name.) I found out that Nichelle “Uhura” Nichols did have an influence on minorities
applying to be astronauts, Including Fred Gregory who was also personally urged to apply by General
Benjamin Davis, Jr., the commander of the ground-breaking Tuskegee Airmen.
The book provides a damning history of the O-ring engineering failures before Challenger and
the thermal tile problems before Columbia. Bagby also identifies how other missions that could have
ended in disaster but were saved by seconds or by luck. She points out the toxic culture in a space
agency that did not learn from Challenger where schedule and budget were more important than safety
and dissent was not welcomed.
There is a lot in this book that is familiar but enough that is revelatory to make it worth reading,
even for space enthusiasts. The portraits she paints of astronauts such as Anna Fisher, Fred Gregory,
Sally Ride, Ron McNair and others ring true, even though others are given short shrift.
I recommend this book as an ambitious attempt to tell the story of the Space Shuttle and the
TFNG crews that flew it. “The New Guys” largely succeeds and is a well-researched addition to the
history of the Space Shuttle program. - ElizabethWell Researched Account of the 1978 Astronaut Class and the Space Shuttle ProgramThe astronaut class of 1978 was the first class to include civilians, women, and minorities. As a long time aerospace employee who interacted with some of the class of 1978 early in my career, I had no idea how much racism and sexism the astronauts faced, including from some within the agency. I also didn't realize how close we were to losing space shuttles on several other occasions. The book is a good reminder that having an attitude of "it hasn't been a problem yet" can have catastrophic results. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in space history, or anyone who is responsible for safety and quality at their job.
- KarenAstronauts, They’re just like us!I would never consider myself a space nerd. As a teacher, I taught Sally Ride like everyone else. This book took me on a behind the scenes tour of the real humans behind the Space Shuttle Program. I couldn’t put it down.
Although, I learned a lot about the trials and tribulations of the ever mysterious space shuttle program, it was the people, the astronauts and their own fascinating stories that kept me entranced. The teacher in me loved the NASA knowledge, but the romantic side of me loved the behind the scenes details into these brave and driven astronauts lives. You get a little TOP GUN and a little NOTEBOOK.