|
A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts | 
| Author: Andrew Chaikin
Creator: Tom Hanks
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $18.00
Buy New: $14.38
You Save: $3.62 (20%)
New (6) Used (10) from $6.54
Rating:  119 reviews
Sales Rank: 535862
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Pages: 720
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 23.2
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5 x 1.4
Dewey Decimal Number: 509
ASIN: B0018ZRERI
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
A decade in the making, this book is based on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with each of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who contributed their brain power, training and teamwork on Earth. In his preface Chaikin writes, "We touched the face of another world and became a people without limits." What follows are thrilling accounts of such remarkable experiences as the rush of a liftoff, the heart-stopping touchdown on the moon, the final hurdle of re-entry, competition for a seat on a moon flight, the tragic spacecraft fire, and the search for clues to the origin of the solar system on the slopes of lunar mountains. "I've been there. Chaikin took me back."--Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 astronaut
Product Description
This acclaimed portrait of heroism and ingenuity captures a watershed moment in human history. The astronauts themselves have called it the definitive account of their missions. On the night of July 20, 1969, our world changed forever when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Based on in-depth interviews with twenty-three of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who struggled to get the program moving, A Man on the Moon conveys every aspect of the Apollo missions with breathtaking immediacy and stunning detail.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 114 more reviews...
Man conquers the Moon. May 27, 2009
Faulkner GC
I was 18 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. I watched the almost unbelievable event on black and white TV outside a shop window, as most people were doing. It was an outstanding achievement,especially for young people like myself doing physics hoping to go for an engineering career. Today I can only smile when I recall my grandmother's reaction as soon as I told her what had occured. This 70 year old lady was extremely religious and would have nothing of it. The more I tried to convince her the more she became adamant that I was being blasphemous !!!!. She did'nt speak to me for a week !! God bless her. Andrew Chaikin has written an excellent book.Anyone wanting to know what realy happened would miss out if he does'nt read this extraordinary account.It is really captivating to learn how difficult it really was and the courage it took from everyone involved. I could'nt let the book out of my hands. A true masterpiece .Now I am 57 and I recently had the great honour and privilege to meet Jack Schmitt of Apollo 17 fame while he was at the Malta University delivering a speech for the Physics Dep. Later he visited our still budding Aviation Museum.It was truely a great honour.
Inspiring and Depressing Book March 26, 2009
Jeffrey B. Sulman
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although I was only six years old when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon, I remember my father calling me into the living room to make me sit down and watch the first moon walk. I do not remember much other then being mad that I had to sit down and watch and him telling me one day I would be glad I saw this. Well, I am glad he made me watch and I am glad that I read this book almost 40 years later.
The book one of the best I've ever read. It gives the necessary (not comprehensive) details of every Apollo flight from 8 ( first manned flight around the moon) to 17 (the sixth and final lunar landing). Its well written and Mr. Chaikin keeps the readers' interest by intertwining the technical details with the biographical information of all the major players in the Apollo mission. It is a book that you will not be able to put down.
This book effected me in two contrary ways. First, it was inspiring to read of the persistence, courage, wisdom and diligence that went into the Apollo mission and its predecessors (Gemini and Mercury). Not just the astronauts but leaders like Kennedy, managers like Deke Slayton, engineers, mission controllers like Gene Kranz, scientists and a host of other unnamed men and women. It is amazing to think of what they accomplished in less than 10 years.
The book also sadden me because planetary exploration ended with Apollo. Weak politicians like Walter Mondale thought feeding the poor was more important then man's continued discoveries - as if we could not do both. Had he been around in the14th century Europe our ships would still be hugging the coast of Europe and Africa in fear of falling off the edge of the world. We should be on the moon, we should at least be going to Mars. It is a reflection of our lack of moral character that we are not. Chaikin closes with these words which every American should ponder: "Project Apollo remains the last great act this country has undertaken out of a sense of optimism, of looking forward to the future...It is the sense of purpose we felt then that seems as distant now as the moon itself. If NASA has lost direction, it is only because we have not chosen to give it one. Instead of letting the moon be the gateway to our future, we have let it become a brief chapter in our history. The irony is that in turning from space exploration - whose progress is intimately linked to the future of mankind - we rob ourselves of the long-term vision we desperately need. Any society, if it is to flourish instead of merely survive, ust strive to transcend its own limits. It still as Kennedy said: Exploration, by virtue of difficulty, causes us to focus on our abilities and make them better."
After reading these words I felt a smidgen of the loss that Schmitt felt when he heard the words of Nixon while on the Challenger returning from the last trip to the moon, "This may be the last time in this century that men will walk on the moon..." It give a great personal and national sense of loss that we have not gone back.
Again, a great inspiring book.
 first hand reports from the moonwalkers September 7, 2008
P. M. Adeline (PARIS FRANCE)
many books have been written about apollo
I have read more than forty
but in this one we feel the authors has been given the chance to hear directly the moonwalkers
for me it is one of the best first hand report on apollo
A Recreation of Wonder September 3, 2008
S. Gale (Los Angeles, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book vividly paints the picture of the voyages and lives of the Apollo astronauts. It is exhaustively detailed; so much so that you often feel as if the astronauts are telling their own stories in real time. For true fans of the Apollo era this is the comprehensive story of the greatest adventure man has ever undertaken.
History lesson in the making. August 3, 2008
Science Teacher Dad (Arizona, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
This is an outstanding lesson in history from the perspective of those who lived it. Having just attended Advanced Space Academy for Educators in Huntsville, Alabama and the Kennedy Space Center, Florida; this book brought the sites, history, and lessons to life.
It should be required reading for those who have forgotten what our American Spirit is all about.
|
|
|
Proud member of the Celebrity Pro Network. Make sure you check out these other great JimmyKat network sites:
Lyrics Database
Celebrity Blog
Celebrity Thing
Celebrity PC
Latest Celebrity Photos
Web Portal
Travel Photos
Quotes
Flash Games
|
Is there a better
price available?
Find out:
|
|
|
|
