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'An extraordinary book ... Space, with its limitless boundaries, has the power to inspire, to change lives, to make the impossible happen. Chaikin's superb book demonstrates how' Sunday Times 'A superb account ... Apollo may be the only achievement by which our age is remembered a thousand years from now' - Arthur C. Clarke
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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The race to the moon was won spectacularly by Apollo 11 on 20 July 1969. When astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their 'giant step' across a ghostly lunar landscape, they were watched by some 600 million people on Earth 250,000 miles away.
'A Man on the Moon' is the definitive account of the heroic Apollo programme: from the tragedy of the fire in Apollo 1 during a simulated launch, through the euphoria of the first moonwalk, to the discoveries made by the first scientist in space aboard Apollo 17. Drawing on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with the astronauts and team, this is the story of the twentieth century's greatest human achievement, minute-by-minute, in the words of those who were there.
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A great big brick of a book telling the story of America's quest to put a man on the moon in nearly 600 pages could seem quite intimidating, but it is a great read and never gets dull or outstays its welcome. The style is very free-flowing and takes you through the Apollo programme mission-by-mission introducing the main players and the main achievements and disappointments as you go along and you are left with a really excellent feeling of how the whole amazing enterprise was put together and executed by a group of brave and clever people whose contribution to the expansion of human knowledge and the development of modern technologies is sometimes rather overlooked nowadays.
Technically, of course, it is three books in one as that is how the text is split up. Book one takes us through from the dreadful catastrophe of Apollo 1 through the various steps along the way towards the soaring success of Apollo 11 and the quite amazing technological leaps that had to be made to make that possible. Book two takes us through the middle "consolidation" period of lunar exploration with Apollo Missions 12-14 and includes dramatic descriptions of the ill-fated Apollo 13 which many people now regard as NASA's "most shining moment". Book three covers the astonishing successes of the last three moon landings, Apollo Missions 15-17, building on what had been achieved before and slowly uncovering more and more about the fascinating geology of the moon and leaving you with a slight sense of loss that the programme was not allowed to continue - not least when you discover what the Moon could still offer us in terms of solutions to our energy crisis for example - if only we'd been brave enough to stretch our minds to the possibilities on offer to us.
The book finishes with an epilogue telling where the former Astronauts were in their lives at the time of original publication back in 1994. This is a very thought-provoking and insightful piece which maybe should have been updated for the new edition in 2009, but wasn't. Possibly, as some of the main players involved are now no longer with us, it is more meaningful to remember them as they were then, but some kind of acknowledgement that time has once again moved on might have helped clarify things a little to a new audience. Nonetheless, a lot of what those Astronauts had to say was very meaningful and Ken Mattingly's comments about the lack of continuance in the engineering process ("If you don't build things, you don't know HOW to build things") seems to sum up the frustrations felt by many former key players from that generation.
The appendices are very useful giving all the biographical details of the various astronauts and a list of the relevant data of each of the Apollo missions in a handy "list" format which is useful to have. All-in-all this is a very satisfying and beautifully written book to have as an overview of this most fascinating of human achievements.
Technically, of course, it is three books in one as that is how the text is split up. Book one takes us through from the dreadful catastrophe of Apollo 1 through the various steps along the way towards the soaring success of Apollo 11 and the quite amazing technological leaps that had to be made to make that possible. Book two takes us through the middle "consolidation" period of lunar exploration with Apollo Missions 12-14 and includes dramatic descriptions of the ill-fated Apollo 13 which many people now regard as NASA's "most shining moment". Book three covers the astonishing successes of the last three moon landings, Apollo Missions 15-17, building on what had been achieved before and slowly uncovering more and more about the fascinating geology of the moon and leaving you with a slight sense of loss that the programme was not allowed to continue - not least when you discover what the Moon could still offer us in terms of solutions to our energy crisis for example - if only we'd been brave enough to stretch our minds to the possibilities on offer to us.
The book finishes with an epilogue telling where the former Astronauts were in their lives at the time of original publication back in 1994. This is a very thought-provoking and insightful piece which maybe should have been updated for the new edition in 2009, but wasn't. Possibly, as some of the main players involved are now no longer with us, it is more meaningful to remember them as they were then, but some kind of acknowledgement that time has once again moved on might have helped clarify things a little to a new audience. Nonetheless, a lot of what those Astronauts had to say was very meaningful and Ken Mattingly's comments about the lack of continuance in the engineering process ("If you don't build things, you don't know HOW to build things") seems to sum up the frustrations felt by many former key players from that generation.
The appendices are very useful giving all the biographical details of the various astronauts and a list of the relevant data of each of the Apollo missions in a handy "list" format which is useful to have. All-in-all this is a very satisfying and beautifully written book to have as an overview of this most fascinating of human achievements.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
For the twentieth anniversary of Apollo 11 there was a lovely bunch of excellent Apollo histories. For the 25th anniversary there was little beyond this one. The reason was clear - this book wipes the floor with all the others. It is written in a beautiful style, rushes the reader along with panache and never lets up.
But just being a good read wouldn't be enough for all those space geeks like me who lap this sort of stuff up. It is replete with technical details explained in such a way that you would barely know if there has been a technical factlet just gone by. And the author did such wonderful research that there is enough new anecdote to keep even the jaded Apollo fan going. If you buy only one general Apollo hstory, buy this one.
And definitely buy it in the three volume illustrated version. This has Chaikin's original text with a slew of fantastic photos beautifully reproduced. Expensive, perhaps, so do what I did and get your wife/husband/partner/etc to get it for you as a present. You will love them forever.
But just being a good read wouldn't be enough for all those space geeks like me who lap this sort of stuff up. It is replete with technical details explained in such a way that you would barely know if there has been a technical factlet just gone by. And the author did such wonderful research that there is enough new anecdote to keep even the jaded Apollo fan going. If you buy only one general Apollo hstory, buy this one.
And definitely buy it in the three volume illustrated version. This has Chaikin's original text with a slew of fantastic photos beautifully reproduced. Expensive, perhaps, so do what I did and get your wife/husband/partner/etc to get it for you as a present. You will love them forever.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A Man on the Moon (The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts) Andrew Chaikin.
Critically acclaimed book by renowned Aerospace author and scientist Andrew Chaikin. I read the previous edition of this book a few years ago and it's great!
Reading somewhere between history, biography, popular science and a thriller this is a well respected, bestselling book on the Apollo space program with a few photos in the middle.
Definitely 5 stars.
Critically acclaimed book by renowned Aerospace author and scientist Andrew Chaikin. I read the previous edition of this book a few years ago and it's great!
Reading somewhere between history, biography, popular science and a thriller this is a well respected, bestselling book on the Apollo space program with a few photos in the middle.
Definitely 5 stars.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A man on the moon
Bought this book as a present so not read it myself though, with a quick thumb-through, it looks very comprehensive !
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Published 9 months ago by Wildebeest17
Great!
A voluminous (600 pages) book about the Apollo program, which I absolutely enjoyed. The first 80 pages were a bit bland, but from Bormans Apollo 8 flight around the moon, there is... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Christian Wendt
Simply the best book on the subject
This really is the best book on the subject. It somehow manages to cover such a wide range of subjects and areas whilst remaining at all times, detailed yet interesting, complex... Read more
Published 17 months ago by phatmambo
Simply Excellent
Excellent book, written in a non techie and flowing style that is easy to follow and hard to put down. Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2009 by Stephen George Newman
A personal account of one of mankinds greatest achievements
A fantastic look at the NASA Apollo program through the eyes of the astronauts and NASA staff. I enjoyed the way the book was written, it has the flow of a great story but you... Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2009 by G. Allen
A Man On The Moon
An excellent book that provides what must be one of the most extensive insights into the Apollo moon missions that exists in any format. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2001
Oustanding.
I first read this book some four years ago. I now have a copy of my own and am reading it for the third time. It is simply the best book on the Apollo missions ever written.
Published on 11 Jan 2001
Addictive and Informative
The first book I have read in ages that I simply couldn't put down! The amount of effort put in by the author to accumulate information for this book is evident as the Apollo... Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2001
Addictive, brilliant book - one of the best books I've read.
If you're at all interested in the Apollo missions to the moon, you will thoroughly enjoy "A Man on the Moon". Read more
Published on 24 July 2000
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