To Rule the Night
“To Rule The Night” by James B. Irwin English 10 2/14/09 “As we flew into space we had a new sense of ourselves, of the earth, and of the nearness of God. I sensed the beginning of some sort of deep change taking place inside of me” -James B. Irwin The author’s purpose in the biography, “To Rule The Night,” by James B. Irwin, is to inform the reader of his life, particularly his trip to the moon and how God opened doors for him to share the word with thousands of people. Also in his book he talks about his childhood and how his father was a big Air force addict which influenced him to join the military.
He also talks about what happened when he got back to Earth, about all the interviews, and the famous Postage stamp incident that occurred between the crew and a German stamp dealer. (64)“…to show that our good postal service delivers any place in the universe, I have the pleasant task of canceling , here on the moon, the first stamp of a new issue…” Dave went on to sell all the new stamps to the German stamp dealer. I believe that he did achieve in informing me on his journey to the moon and his life.
I did enjoy this book also I thought it was encouraging how he was saved, (60) “certainly God had been watching over us that day. ” I think this book was meant for who ever was reading it because of all the interesting details, any kid could be interested in because he talks about living in zero Gs and how you eat with no gravity. (24) “All food containers were labeled A, B, C, D, E, and all meals were color-coded…. So if a meal floated by and you identified it as red, you could say, ‘Hey Dave you’ve lost your entree. Also for an adult because of the actual story of it the fact that he went to the moon and the maturity it was written in. It was appealing even from a Christian stand point because no matter where you are God can work in you. Well I believe the message I got from it was that God is everywhere and loves us enough to make the moon and all the stars. One of the themes that I noticed was he was a hard worker and was a respectful person. But I noticed a difference in him after he got saved; he was happier and was looking for opportunities to share the gospel.
Well a element that contributed to the theme has to be the vastness of space, because how can you go into space and not realize how magnificent God is if this is just what He made. The tone of the book seemed to be a very experience filled life. He did well in high school, joined the military, went into the air force, became a pilot, joined the space program, went to the moon, and became a revived Christian. Well while reading the book some elements that helped me identify the tone was the detail everything was described, (48) “Of course, you are constantly dodging rocks and craters.
You hit a rock and you are literally airborne. You just bounce into space, float for a while, and then come down. ” I think first of all the authors purpose, like I said before was to inform us of his adventure, and the tone just goes along with it. He seemed to be a well educated man with great imagination and ability to retain facts, individual moments and tell it back to you so that you felt like you were right there with them. (33) “I wish we had such things as drops in space, but without any up of down, water doesn’t drop out. It just makes a blob, and the blob just keeps on getting larger and larger. The vocabulary was not hard to understand; almost anyone could have read this book really. But at the same time it wasn’t to simple to were you thought the book was for a child, (127) “My new home was a rambling wooden building up on the hill that must have been the old officers quarters back during World War 2. ” There really weren’t any unusual qualities, except that the way that the book was written. It started out with his journey to the moon, then his childhood and worked its self back up. The book had much detail and really did a great job of catching my attention.
Also I enjoyed reading this book because I thought I was on the moon. But it wasn’t just that that caught my attention at the end of the book was the best part to me, (200) “There were 5000 in the audience, with the floor and aisles packed absolutely to capacity. I had a terrible stomach ache, and I asked the Lord to give me the right words and to give me strength. He really answered my prayer. About a hundred people came forward, and I felt that we had enjoyed a great experience. ” Well, I think that, if you mean James B Irwin when you say “subjects”, he accomplished a lot in his life.
That his life is an example that you can go to the moon and god still not be done with you. (203) “I have a sort of clarifying sense of uncovering Gods plan for my new life on earth. God has permitted me to live on top of the mountains, and when I have been cast down, He has brought me back on the tops of the hills again. Being able to give my testimony before people without fear, to share my spiritual voyage and to ask them to accept Jesus Christ, has been a tremendous experience for me. ” He seemed to emphasized in the end of his book the importance of his wife and there relationship with God. 205) “The whole experience in the Holy land was the most inspiring to way to turn the corner of the old year into a new year for High Flight. The experience moved us and gave us a chance to rededicate ourselves to each other as a family and to our mission. ” Well since the book was a biography there were many environments, when he was in space, on the moon, coming back, all the press, his child hood, his marriage problems, sharing the gospel round the world. But, something I noticed was he was never prideful or self centered, (180) “Frankly I do not care for all the fame and publicity…. A historical detail was, (18) “We knew that if we cleared the tower we had reasonable chance of survival if something should go wrong. I watched all the systems I was responsible for on my side of the spacecraft. We cleared the tower. It was almost the happiest moment of my life to realize that after all those years it was now my turn. At last I was leaving the earth. ” I think that it has a major effect on him, (43) “There was a excitement of exploring a place where man had never been before, but the most exciting thing, that really moved me and touched my soul, was that I could feel Gods presence there. Something that I learned from him was that his NASA training was hard and he almost dropped out, (180) “I had been so programmed I was like a robot. I had to eat, drink, sleep, and dream my work- I had to be saturated…. When I told Mary that I might drop out of the program… ” I learned from him, when he didn’t drop out, I learned that you have to persevere threw hard times. I want to join the Navy and I know that its going to be hard but it was herd for him and his wife, but he didn’t drop out or give up. The only main incident that he brings up in the end of the book was his relationship with his wife.
He talk about how much happier they are together and that God has really helped them grow together. (205) “Mary is a lot closer to me bow that she has been-we have both changed a great deal, and she is tremendously reinforcing me. ” It reveals that when it comes down to it none of his experiences matter to him, just him, his wife and God. (211) “Mary, you know, is the greatest nurse I could ever ask for. And she took care of me the way she did ten years before, after the crash. It has been an ideal relationship since I got back…”
After reading this book I would say that God is great because, James Irwin had grown up in a Christian home but, never truly followed Christ until he went to space. Afterward, you see a huge difference in his life, and a growth of sincerity with his wife. I learned that I shouldn’t let my achievements or pride get in the away of my walk with God. And I think that James Irwin does a great job of setting that example. I chose this book because I was curious to what it was like to go to space and how it would affect someone if they did. Plus I didn’t really know too much about the Apollo missions and what they did.
Some ways that I relate to him is my stubbornness; he was stubborn to his physical welfare, and im stubborn about my points of views. He told the press in his book that he never was physically fatigued while on the moon, but I remember him saying that he was on EVA2. Another way I relate to him is that he loved to fly. James B. Irwin wrote that he was depressed when he had his first heat attack because he couldn’t fly. I liked this book and really enjoyed reading it. I wasn’t too excited at first about reading a biography. But, it turned out to be a great book.
A couple of reasons I like “To Rule The Night” was because of the detail he used to describe going to space, and how the book was geared toured God and trusting Him. One of my favorite parts of the book was when he described the living conditions of living in a no gravity environment. I like it because it’s different and unique; it’s not something you would find in any book. I wouldn’t change anything in the book it is well written and has much detail. I think anyone that is interested in the experiences of few, and how a Christian is suppose to live for Christ, would like this biography of James B. Irwin.
