Full Circle by David L. Cisco

Full Circle was written by Lunar Module technician David L. Cisco. It was published in 2010 by DLC Enterprises. The paperback edition I read ran 173 pages. The cover depicts a Lunar Module landing on an American flag draped across the moon. There are a few blurbs on the back, but the most impressive is on the front. It comes from Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan. Despite the good notice from Cernan, the book carries a very self-published feel. (I suspect I know what the “DLC” in DLC Enterprises stands for.) A number of small typos throughout stick out pretty badly, though I found the writing to be not half-bad.

The book is Cisco’s memoir, covering his entire life. Though his involvement in the Apollo Program is highlighted by the cover image and by his billing as an “Apollo Alumni,” his work as a technician with Lunar Module contractor Grumman lasts a little under thirty pages. The earlier sections of the book discuss his upbringing in a poor New York family, and later parts cover his experiences in the business world, from a job as an airline hiring manager to starting his own travel agency. These stories are particularly interesting because of Cisco’s unique background. Disadvantaged by growing up poor and non-white in the 1950s and 1960s, he demonstrates inspiring drive and determination in working his way up from sweeping the floors in a store to helping test spacecraft. Later, working at an airline, he plays a key role in hiring some of the first female and Black pilots and first officers in the industry. He and his wife then leave prestigious jobs to start their own travel agency, which takes off and becomes extremely successful. It's an interesting story—but perhaps not the kind of stuff an Apollo enthusiast is looking for in a book with a Lunar Module on the cover.

Cisco worked at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston as a Grumman employee. He and other technicians would stand inside the LM and move switches, turn dials, and give readouts to a test coordinator over an intercom. Cisco also participated in “drop tests” to check the strength of the landing gear, as well as checks of the small explosive charges used to separate parts of the Apollo Spacecraft. The reader gets a small glimpse into the testing procedures used for the LM, but there isn’t a wealth of new information here. (In one amusing anecdote we learn that Cisco’s magic-marker signature can be found in the descent stage engine bell of the LM on display at the National Air and Space Museum). I rate Full Circle a worthwhile read, but an inessential addition to an Apollo library.