THE LAST AMERICAN HERO

After the first manned orbital flight, an astronaut emerged as a star.

Although historian and news editor George says she does not aim to place astronaut and four-term senator John Glenn (1921-2016) “on a pedestal,” her admiring, often fawning, biography, drawn from oral histories with Glenn and his wife, among many other sources, portrays him unabashedly as an inspiring hero who “made Americans feel proud, honorable, invincible, united.” He was the hero, asserts the author, that the country needed to raise morale and inspire hope during the fractious 1960s. “His all-American good looks, his humility, and his virtuous outlook,” she writes, “combined to make him a heralded representation of clean living and American exceptionalism.” Born in a small town in Ohio, Glenn developed “a profound sense of right and wrong” that distinguished him from other young boys. In high school, “he embraced the ideal of public service,” and as a soldier in World War II, he saw himself as “a tough, self-sacrificing crusader for good in its holy war against evil.” The handsome aviator “who loved his wife, worshipped his God, and served his nation seemed perfect,” George writes, noting that other astronauts grew irritated with his “perfectly choreographed public appearances, his by-the-book behavior, and what they viewed as a ‘holier than thou’ attitude.” They called him “the Boy Scout.” The author recounts in (overly) dramatic detail Glenn’s first manned orbital flight, onlookers’ breathless responses, and the accolades that followed. Inspired by his friend Robert Kennedy, Glenn decided to enter politics, was elected to the Senate in 1974, was considered a possible running mate by Jimmy Carter and Michael Dukakis, and, in 1984, made a bid for the presidency. A weak, disorganized campaign ultimately failed. At the age of 77, he gained a seat on the space shuttle.

A well-informed biography that presents its subject in a golden light.