Countdown: An Autobiography

The exciting account included here of Borman's NASA years (he took part in the Gemini 7 and Apollo 8 spaceflights, and also served as a troubleshooter and project manager) augments Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff with details, dialogue and perceptions that will interest admirers of that bestseller. In 1970, Borman went to work for Eastern Airlines, a company ``riddled with inept management and uncaring unions,'' to eventually take over as president and CEO. His most difficult task: cutting labor costs. The book describes Eastern's prolonged, bitter struggle to remain independent, a management/labor fight Borman lost in 1986 when Eastern became part of Texas Air. The most impressive section of this highly readable autobiography, coauthored with novelist Sterling ( The President's Plane Is Missing ), is the depiction of Borman's confrontations with intransigent labor leaders and the dynamics of their negotiations. Also memorable is the tribute to Susan Borman's poignant struggle to be ``the Perfect Wife married to the Perfect Husband who was the Perfect Astronaut in a Perfect American Family raising Perfect Children.'' Borman is now an aviation consultant. Photos. (October)