It Came From Outer Space Wearing an RAF Blazer!: A Fan's Biography of Sir Patrick Moore

A very detailed biography of the great man. Very interesting, but long and detailed.

Ce livre est remarquable ! Tous les passionnés d'histoire de l'astronomie devraient le lire. L'auteur donne un brillant aperçu de ce qu'était l'astronomie britannique à une certaine époque et de ce qui pouvait se passer dans ses coulisses. Captivant !

I've just finished this book on Patrick Moore and must say it's one of the best books I've read in a long time. I read Patrick Moore's books back in the late sixties and thought I knew him. Just reading the Preface of this book I found out more about Patrick Moore then I ever knew before. This book has some great stories in it, some of them quite funny. (Patrick's first trip to the Canary Islands) What also makes this book so good is you get a look into the BAA, which Patrick joined at age 11, and British amateur astronomy during the fifties, sixties and beyond. I also found out Patrick wrote Science Fiction and at least one book on UFO's. And, of course, there is the "Sky at Night" Program which Patrick did with only a "gentlemans agreement". The only thing I would have liked to have seen would be more of Patrick's astronomical sketches, there is only one in the whole book. As I stated in the title, I wish I could give this book more then five stars. Buy this book now!

What a magnificent biography! Nothing turgid here. Martin Mobberley has written a "warts and all" life of one of our greatest citizens, one who graced our screens and whose works lined our library shelves for over half a century. It was always going to be difficult to balance the private life of an individual with that persona known to millions. However, as Martin accurately informs us in his biography, Patrick's life was an open book. He was the most generous of human beings, whilst never concealing his beliefs and attitudes. Be prepared for some revelations,some of which may not be flavour of the moment, but at the end of this read, Patrick is still the Patrick we loved over the years. Accurate and thoughtful revelations do not damage a reputation built on such a secure footing. Just take in what Patrick did for charities over the years. The author mentions them throughout the book. Also, Patrick's outstanding generosity, even to complete strangers, rises to the surface so often during the story of his life.Martins's wonderful book is the result of over a decade of careful research, during which time he managed to interview many of those whose lives were touched in some way by Patrick. I know, I was one of them. Patrick for me was a hero of the first magnitude. His generosity was legendary and his influence far greater than he could ever have known. Martin's reports are always humorous, when appropriate, and as far as I can tell, they ring true with the Patrick known to so many.The book is nicely produced, but why there is not a hardback option I cannot fathom. It contains some good photographs, covering the decades of Patrick's life very well. The front cover illustration is also well chosen. It captures Patrick's presence so perfectly.The author's writing style is very relaxed and clearly, always that of a dedicated fan, who only wants to place before his readers the most accurate account of a life lived to the full, one which we all loved to read about at the time, but one that has now been set out in such a masterly fashion. Martin has filled in many of the gaps for so many of us who encountered Patrick over the years. We could not possibly have known so much about the man, but the author has managed to produce a engrossing account of the life of our greatest astronomical communicator, in chronological order from birth to his last days.The author gives due attention to the influence of the British Astronomical Association on Patrick over the years, and his relationship with that respected organisation. We all know that "The Sky at Night" was a driving force in Patrick's life, but Martin carefully assures us that many of Patrick's BAA friends were key players, as guests, on that long-running (and still running) programme. It was a pleasure to read about the many astronomers who graced our screens over the years, jogging memories buried by years of constant advances in the fields of astronomy and space exploration.Particularly valuable are Martin's lists of Patrick's favourite expressions, and the Appendix listings, notably that of Patrick's publications.For any who have Patrick's books on their shelves, this is the time to dust them off (yes,some of them date from the 1950's) and enjoy that style of writing that launched so many of us into the void and prepared us for the Apollo era in particular. Martin's accurate account of Patrick's writings over the years is part of the chronological sequence in this book. As a result of the author's account, I ordered a tiny volume of Patrick's not on my shelves. There will be more added over coming months and years.Be prepared to place on hold anything else you have planned for the near future, as you will not want to put this book down. You many wish to ration yourself to so many pages per day as, at over 650 pages, with index, you should be prepared for a good, long soak in the incredible life of Sir Patrick. I would not suggest rushing it. It took me ten days and I was not looking forward to finishing it. Given a suitable break from the immersion, I will read it again. It is nice to encounter a book that places other "pressing" duties on hold!After reading this book, I would like to suggest the following as appropriate follow-up publishing ideas; a) a fully illustrated scrapbook format publication, featuring many of the tens of thousands of photographs in collections across the world featuring Patrick, fully annotated of course and b) a portfolio selection of Patrick's many observational drawings and notes across the decades, so that from wherever Patrick is now in this vast universe of ours, he could still exert an influence on generations to come. For the moment, however, inspiration can be yours if your read the book under review. I am sure that many will have their memories jogged by this biography and one would wish for a follow-up volume under the general heading "Patrick Remembered". Martin should write it! As it stands at the moment, this is a biography worthy of praise and comes highly recommended.

I'm sure that there will be several biographies of Sir Patrick Moore, the long-time presenter of the BBC's Sky at Night programme, who died in December 2012. Martin Mobberley is first off the mark with "It Came From Outer Space Wearing an RAF Blazer!: A Fan's Biography of Sir Patrick Moore" and I'm pleased to say Martin's book stakes a good claim to be the definitive volume. Martin, an ex-president of the British Astronomical Association, was a long-time friend of Sir Patrick, and a fellow lunar observer. There are few people better qualified to assess Patrick's legacy in the amateur astronomical community.But the real strength of the book is that Martin has cut through the mythology which has built up around a very public figure. Patrick was a great raconteur, never short of a story, and over the years the tales he told of his earlier life have grown; he was also mischievous and not above creating fictitious alter-egos. Many of his stories - to take one example, Patrick accompanying on the piano as Einstein played the violin - were repeated uncritically in his obituaries. Martin carefully examines the claims one-by-one and debunks the myths; and there were a lot of them. It may be that Martin has unfairly dismissed a true story here or there, but I'd be surprised if that happened often.This book is not a hagiography, but nor is it in any way a hatchet job. Patrick was a larger-than-life character who held some extreme views (verging on racism and misogyny) and could bear grudges for decades; but he was also a charming, gregarious and generous man who was unstinting in his help for his fellow astronomers, especially beginners and youngsters. Above all he was an observer, who enjoyed the company of other observers. And a biography written by a fellow observer makes it quite clear the esteem in which he was held by those who he helped out.What about his relationships? I'll leave you to find out what Martin discovered about Patrick's fiancée, Lorna, killed during the second world war. The simple truth is that Patrick's longest and most important relationship was with his mother Gertrude; her presence and support enabled him to concentrate on his writing and broadcasting careers. Martin does a very good job in tracing the good fortune that brought Patrick the job as presenter of Sky at Night; and the extraordinary events of the Space Age that propelled Patrick to fame. Martin also gives an insight, based on personal experience, of what it was like to contribute to and appear on the programme.The style of the book echoes Patrick's own style - excitable and enthusiastic. Another recent departee, Elmore Leonard, held that books should contain approximately two exclamation marks per hundred thousand words. Martin exceeds this quota within a page or two! There's a certain amount of repetition - I guarantee you will know Ethel Granger's waist measurement by the end of the book, and she is only a peripheral character - but in a book that seeks to cover a life in its totality, perhaps some restatement of facts is inevitable.I recommend this book. I fear there may be other, less well-researched volumes in the pipeline. It is good to have a detailed, objective biography to judge them against.