The Barber, The Astronaut, and The Golf Ball
by Barbara Radnofsky and Ed Supkis
Biography / Golf / Space Travel
Publisher: Stoney Creek Publishing
Pages: 202
Publication Date: September 17, 2024
SYNOPSIS
In 1971, famed astronaut Alan Shepard returned from the moon and went to get a haircut. Before settling into the barber’s chair in Webster, Texas, near NASA’s Mission Control, Shepard gave his longtime barber and friend, Carlos Villagomez, an autographed golf ball. During his Apollo 14 moonwalk, Shepard had conducted a world-famous demonstration of gravity by hitting a golf ball in an out-of-this-world sand trap. It took him two tries. Carlos, a Navy combat veteran and barber for numerous astronauts, says Shepard gave him the ball immediately after he returned to earth and was released from quarantine. Had Shepard taken a third ball to the moon? And did he give it to his barber as a token of their long friendship? The debate provides a backdrop for The Barber, The Astronaut, and the Golf Ball, a story of two extraordinary men and their lasting friendship. The book offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of America’s space program at its pinnacle and shows the ordinary people who supported one of the nation’s most monumental scientific endeavors.
Praise for The Barber, The Astronaut, and The Golf Ball:
It’s perfect!! Barbara and Ed capture Daddy and his long friendship with Carlos. —Laura Shepard, Daughter of Alan Shepard
Brings back the glory days of the U.S. Space Program and the importance of the “little people” who made it happen. We see stern Shepard in a new and admirable light – in Shepard’s high regard for the vast team of dedicated supporters who enabled astronauts to succeed. —Charlie Duke, Apollo Astronaut
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BOOK TRAILER
Barbara Radnofsky and Ed Supkis grew up in the 1960s in the shadow of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center and married in 1982. They have three children and five grandchildren. The couple —with many other community members — are co-owners of Brazos Bookstore, an independent bookseller. As children of NASA scientists, Barbara and Ed had front-row seats to the development of the space program and the community built around it on rural cow pastures near Webster, Texas.
Barbara Radnofsky is a writer, mediator, teacher, and lawyer. She’s the author of A Citizen’s Guide to Impeachment, a nonpartisan explanation of U.S. constitutional impeachment history and practice.
Ed Supkis MD is a board-certified anesthesiologist specializing in cardiac anesthesia. He served as Director of Quality Assurance for the Division of Anesthesiology and as Medical Director of Respiratory Care for the Division of Surgery and Anesthesiology.
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“The background of the ‘third’ golf ball and its story was a mystery we wanted to explore.”
The Barber, The Astronaut, and the Golf Ball by Barbara Radnofsky and Ed Supkis is a fascinating behind-the scenes account of an incredibly famous event in history. The space race and space travel in the 1960s and 1970s in general were thrilling for those fortunate enough to watch everything unfold in real life or at least on their television, but learning more decades later is just as thrilling.
Whether you’re a space aficionado or not, you probably have heard of Alan Shepard. And if you’re a true golf fan, you know about Shepard’s famous one-handed golf swing on the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. This biographical account of that event and so much more will have you scrambling across the internet for more pictures and other info to feed the interest sparked by Radnofsky and Supkis.
While Alan Shepard is well known, who else knows about his barber? Carlos Villagomez, aka the barber, deserves an entire book all his own because his life has been just as amazing and varied. As the barber to the astronauts and other NASA personnel, Carlos befriended Alan right from the start. Who knew this man would go to such great lengths to ease Alan’s transition from a flat top hairdo to something a little more modern, all without any journalist capturing a single photo? Who knew that a simple golf ball given to Carlos from his good friend Alan would cause such a flurry of investigative activity on its authenticity and whether or not it was actually “flown” in space. Well, I didn’t know any of this and am glad for this great story to enlighten and delight with anecdotes and insights.
While the main characters here, including the golf ball, are important in this story, other themes deserve praise as well. When reading about the lives of both Carlos and Alan, the aspects that stand out (for me, at least) are the value of hard work, upbringing, and ethics; the foresight in their chosen careers and extraneous business endeavors; and their acute attention to detail, friendships, and family. These men are the epitome of success. Not just in their careers but in their personal lives as well.
While this account of such a momentous time in history and the men and women involved is exciting and informative, the overall story would benefit from a bit more editing and tightening of the prose to eliminate some pesky repetition. The story still stands on solid ground, however, and should definitely be read and recommended to others for the sheer joy of it all. We can all learn from and be inspired by such industrious, conscientious, and adventurous people who have played an illustrious and exciting part in our journey into space. Alan Shepard and Carlos Villagomez, among others, were role models in their heyday and should still be viewed as such by every subsequent generation.
Enter the giveaway on or before September 27, 2024, for a chance to win a hardback edition of this fabulous biography.
I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.
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Terrific review, Ruthie. I felt the same way about the book and learned so much.