{"product_id":"astronauts-on-parade","title":"ASTRONAUTS ON PARADE","description":"Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000149 EndHTML:0000006526 StartFragment:0000000199 EndFragment:0000006492 StartSelection:0000000199 EndSelection:0000006492\u0026lt;html\u0026gt;\u0026lt;head\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/head\u0026gt;\u0026lt;body\u0026gt;\u0026lt;font face=\"Helvetica, Verdana, Arial\"\u0026gt;\u0026lt;span style=\"font-size:11pt\"\u0026gt;author Gene Marianetti documents an eyewitness account of this country’s accomplishments in the Space Race, overcoming unbelievable odds to surpass the Soviet Union and land a man on the Moon within the time frame established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; A member of the NASA Public Affairs team in Washington, D.C., Marianetti helped coordinate the highly successful campaign to sell the space program to the American public and the world—especially the Apollo program, Moon landings, and early Space Shuttle missions.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; Marianetti’s primary job was to get astronauts at the Manned Space Craft Center in Houston out of their space suits and on the road as salesman to help promote the program through public appearances, speeches, interviews and media exposure. At the same time, he worked to develop an agency-wide guest invitation plan to handle visitors and the general public for the upcoming Apollo launches at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; Beginning with the “Week in the Barrel” program, non-flight astronauts began to hit the road and were filling requests for speakers across the country. Astronauts soon began appearing at luncheons, banquets and universities and colleges. The thrust of their remarks was to provide updates on the progress of returning to flight. Returning astronauts were welcomed by an adoring public and honored in tickertape parades, at the White House, and joint Congressional appearances six times in the first years of the space age.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; During this time, astronauts were dispatched on Presidential goodwill trips and visited hundreds of countries and every U.S. state and many territories to share their spaceflight experiences throughout the Apollo years.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; Marianetti worked with the astronauts of every Apollo mission, but has fond memories of working alongside Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins in planning Apollo 11 anniversary events beginning with the first on July 20, 1970 and every fifth year thereafter, including his last observance in 1989.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; Released in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of the first lunar landing, \u0026lt;i\u0026gt;Astronauts On Parade \u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;presents a unique inside look at the Space Race and publicity campaign that ultimately helped finance the American space program for decades.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;b\u0026gt;About the Author\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; GENE MARIANETTI \u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;was born on October 9, 1935, the only child of Gino and Minnie (Grasseschi) Marianetti, both first generation Italian-Americans whose parents had immigrated from northern Italy and settled in Black Eagle, a small community near Great Falls, Montana of mostly Italian and Croatian immigrants.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; After high school in 1954, he enrolled at Montana State University (now University of Montana in Missoula), where he majored in journalism. Following his freshman year, he decided to pursue a radio broadcasting career and enrolled at the Brown Institute of the Air in Minneapolis, Minnesota.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; After working in radio for eight years, in 1965 he began a one-year internship by Montana’s junior Democratic U.S. Senator Lee Metcalf. In August of 1967, he was hired as a protocol officer in the Office of Public Affairs with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Washington, D.C. The job was later expanded to develop and administer a program for the invitation and accommodation of invited guests at the Kennedy Space Center for the Apollo launches scheduled to begin in 1968.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; Gene’s NASA career spanned 27 years (1967-1994) and he was involved in some of the most historic and iconic events and individuals during the Golden Years of the space program. He was especially proud to receive three NASA Exceptional Service (ESM’s) presented by NASA Administrators in 1973, 1981 and 1990.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; His work with the astronauts was recognized in 1989 with the presentation of the astronauts’ personal “Silver Snoopy” achievement award, which features an image of Snoopy, a cartoon character in creator Charles Schulz Peanuts series who authorized its use in the agency’s Manned Flight Awareness Program.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; Marianetti retired in 1994 and moved to Locust Grove, Virginia, midway between Washington and Richmond. He and his wife will celebrate their 64th year of marriage in 2019. They lost son Mick, a launch engineer in 2015, but son Randy and daughters Jamie and Kelly are nearby and they enjoy their seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Between golf games, he and his wife enjoy driving a restored 1957 Ford Thunderbird.\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;b\u0026gt;Praise\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/b\u0026gt;\u0026lt;i\u0026gt;Gene’s responsibilities over a 27-year career with NASA gave him a one-of-a-kind inside view of a fascinating segment of American history in the making AND the people who made it happen. Gene experienced it all, and he shares that inside view in an easy-to-understand style.”\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;—Gerry Griffin, Former Apollo Mission Control Flight Director, and Former Director of Johnson Space Center\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;i\u0026gt;“Gene...Yours has been an outstanding career in a historic time and many of us are in your debt for the extensive help you have provided. Your thoughtfulness and sensitivity have been very important to us and have benefitted NASA in more ways than they will ever know.”\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;—Neil Armstrong, NASA Astronaut (Letter to author, April 25, 1994)\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;i\u0026gt;“Gene dedicated himself both personally and professionally…. He was more than simply staff support or an asset—he was a necessity. He lived by the creed ‘If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well!”\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;—Eugene A. Cernan, NASA Astronaut and last man on the Moon (Letter to John P. Donnelly, Asst. Admin. for Public Aairs, November 8, 1974)\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;i\u0026gt;“A large part of success is to be in the right place at the right time, and clearly we both were. My thanks personally for helping me grow up from a ‘stick and rudder’ type to some semblance of a public speaker….”\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt;—Fred W. Haise, NASA Astronaut (Letter to author, April 17, 1994)\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; 6x9\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; 240 pages\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; $26.95\u0026lt;br \/\u0026gt; \u0026lt;\/span\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/font\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/body\u0026gt;\u0026lt;\/html\u0026gt;","brand":"Acclaim Press, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":19559383040067,"sku":"ASTRONAUTS ON PARADE","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0065\/2515\/7443\/products\/9781948901246_use_this_one.jpg?v=1577987489","url":"https:\/\/acclaim-press-inc.myshopify.com\/products\/astronauts-on-parade","provider":"Acclaim Press, Inc.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}