Before This Decade is Out.: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program [Paperback]

Glen E. Swanson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 2002

These oral histories by major participants in the Apollo program relive the events that culminated in the 1969 moon landing. Recollections of 14 participants include comments by NASA administrators James Webb and Thomas O. Paine; Wernher von Braun, architect of the Saturn V rocket; and astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Charles Duke.  69 black-and-white illustrations.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Winner of the 1999 Pendleton Prize

This significant collection of oral histories of the Saturn/Apollo program recounts the unique adventure of the lunar landing program as witnessed by some of the political leaders, engineers, scientists, and astronauts who made it such a success. It includes recollections from James Webb, the NASA administrator whose political connections in Washington extended back to the New Deal of the 1930s; rocket pioneer and architect of the Saturn V rocket Wernher von Braun; the resolute Robert Gilruth, director of the Houston center; the engineering iconoclast Maxime Faget, whose designs of spacecraft made flights to the moon possible; and astronauts such as Harrison Schmitt and Charles Duke.

These reflections on this unique time, place, and accomplishment are a must read for any student of space history and Project Apollo. The foreword by Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, introduces this extraordinary first chapter in America's space history.

Glen E. Swanson is a historian at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

From the Publisher

WINNER OF THE 1999 PENDLETON PRIZE

This significant collection of oral histories of the Saturn/Apollo program recounts the unique adventure of the lunar landing program as witnessed by some of the political leaders, engineers, scientists, and astronauts who made it such a success. It includes recollections from James Webb, the NASA administrator whose political connections in Washington extended back to the New Deal of the 1930s; rocket pioneer and architect of the Saturn V rocket Wernher von Braun; the resolute Robert Gilruth, director of the Houston center; the engineering iconoclast Maxime Faget, whose designs of spacecraft made flights to the moon possible; and astronauts such as Harrison Schmitt and Charles Duke.

These reflections on this unique time, place, and accomplishment are a must read for any student of space history and Project Apollo. A foreword by Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., former director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, introduces this extraordinary first chapter in America's space history.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida (June 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813025370
• ISBN-13: 978-0813025377
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,083,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Collection of Interviews from the Apollo Moon Mission Era, June 28, 2002

By 

John R. Keller (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Before This Decade is Out.: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program (Paperback)

This book, originally publishing in 1999 as NASA Special Publication, SP-4223, contains fourteen interviews from various people who describe their activities at NASA during the Apollo era. These interviews cover the entire spectrum of people involved in this project, from flight controllers, the top management, two astronauts and even a secretary. More than half the people interviewed for this book have never published anything which recounts their times at NASA, so this book maybe the only source to find such information. This book made me realize that many of the people involved in the Apollo project have passed away and soon the only link to this amazing adventure will be these types of historical records. While I'm not a big fan of books that simply publish interviews, I found this book to be very easy to read and high enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a more behind the scenes look at the moon landing effort or who wants to see a more personal side to NASA.

The interviews contained in the book are as follows, James Webb (NASA Administrator), Thomas O. Paine (NASA Administrator), Wernher von Braun (Rocket Genius and Marshall Space Flight Center Director), Bob Gilruth (Manned Spaceflight Center Director), George E. Mueller (Associate Administrator of Manned Spaceflight), Gene Kranz (Flight Director), Arthur Rogers (Director of Stennis Space Center), James Guin (Rocket Engine Test Engineer), Glynn Lunney (Flight Director), Geneva Barnes (Secretary in Public Affairs Office), Charlie Duke (Astronaut), Harrison Schmitt (Astronaut), George M. Low (Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office), and Max Faget (Spacecraft Designer/Engineer).

One added bonus is that the book contains an annotated bibliography of the Apollo Project which lists approximately 35 books, some of which are quite technical and others which are simply astronaut biographies.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Oral History of Project Apollo, June 28, 2004

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Before This Decade is Out.: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program (Paperback)

This book emerged out of the activities at NASA in 1999 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. As the chief historian of NASA at the time I saw the anniversary looming before us like a freight train bearing down on a deer crossing. I knew it would consume the history function, but I also wanted to use the anniversary to gain support for substantive history projects. This was one of several publications that were completed using resources made available because of the anniversary, and I am quite pleased with the result. The book was originally published through the Government Printing Office as NASA Special Publication-4223 in 1999, and received the Pendleton Prize for best documentary work from the Society for History in the Federal Government. We later negotiated its reprinting in paperback from the University Press of Florida.

Glen E. Swanson, then the historian at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, included in this work fourteen interviews that sweep the broad expanse of the history of Apollo. It includes some of the most well-known people in the history of spaceflight, such as Wernher von Braun and Moon-walkers Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmidt, as well as some folks who have escaped the spotlight, such as Geneva Barnes who helped the Apollo 11 crew on their worldwide goodwill tour after their mission. It also includes some unsung, but nonetheless significant figures. My favorite example is Robert Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (renamed the Johnson Space Center in 1973) and without question the godfather to the astronauts. All of the interviews published here, by both well-known and lesser-known figures are excellently edited and made available in a very accessible text.

Glen Swanson had literally hundreds of interviews from which to choose, for NASA has been sponsoring oral histories of its personnel for decades. "Life" magazine writer Robert Sherrod, who had intended to write a book on Apollo, moreover, conducted some of those included. He never completed the book, but he donated all of his research material to the NASA History Office and it is a treasure trove useful to anyone interested in Apollo. His copies of documents and oral histories have a prized place in the NASA collection. And anyone may use them at any time. In addition, the Johnson Space Center has sponsored an oral history program for many years and has a wealth of materials from which Swanson drew the best. Other collections of oral histories also reside at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, where it went when I left NASA in 2002. These collections made it possible for this book to be published. There is also grist for similar oral history treatments of other NASA programs contained in these rich collections. For anyone who might have an interest in the NASA oral history program I wrote the following article on the subject that you may want to review, "`We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming': NASA, Oral History, and the Contemporary Past," Oral History Review 30 (Summer/Fall 2003): 111-28.

Swanson provided a biographical sketch before each interview included in this book, with details about its origins, dates, interviewers, and where one might consult the original document. I tried to provide some historical context on the Apollo program in an introduction. We then compiled an annotated bibliography on the program to aid in further reading. Always, we sought to bring to life the history of what was arguably humanity's great voyage of discovery.

I believe Swanson succeeded admirably in his task. I also believe that anyone interested in the history of spaceflight or in oral history as a methodology will find this an engaging and helpful book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I agree with John Keller, April 2, 2004

By 

Saturn V (Bensenville, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Before This Decade is Out.: Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program (Paperback)

John has written the first review of this book. It says alot of what I was thinking while reading this myself. Many of these people have passed away or are getting up there in years. (No offense to those still "young" Apollo participants who may read this!) I wanted to hear more from some of them: Bob Gilruth, Max Faget.
As John had pointed out, the bibliography is an excellent resource for additional books. I have aquired and have read most of them. Many of the people interviewed for this book have never been mentioned. That's what makes this a good read. (The NASA publications are particularly good for technical stuff.)
A very worthwhile read as it does tell, in limited detail, the parts that these folks played.
I only hope that many others get an opportunity to contribute their historys as well.