Customer Reviews

The First Men on the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11 (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just picked this one up at the book store yesterday, so have not yet finished reading it. Since nobody else has yet reviewed this book, I'll volunteer to go first to make a few first observation comments.

First, this new book is quite factual and chronologically accurate. It is also very well organized, with an uncustomary, but fully detailed ToC. Atypical for such books, it has LOTS of full page photos, and illustrative figures (mostly B&W, but one whole section devoted to color of this Apollo mission). Many of the pictures are unusual in that I have yet to see them published elsewhere in similar books on the same subject. For this reason alone I recommend this new book by David Harland, "The First Men on the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11".

I'm sure it is somewhat repetitive of other books on this and other Apollo Moon Missions, but still appears much more focused on this specific amazing and most historic spaceflight. It is seemingly much more technically detailed with factual information as well. The bibliography listed references is impressive, so the author must have thoroughly researched Apollo 11 in preparing this book.

I have read (and reviewed on this website) several other excellent books on Project Apollo, particularly those written by the Astronauts and key players within Mission Control, plus watched all the currently available (DVD) videos as well. This one may turn out to surpass all other sources of information, including NASA's archives, with respect to the first Moon landing. However, I will have to return to update my review at a future date, after reading it to completion.

So far, the only criticism I have of this and other related space exploration books published by Springer Praxis, is that they are quite expensive, especially in paperback. Nevetheless, my first impression is you get what you pay for, and though paperback, this book just may DELIVER on its lofty price as an authoritative and exhaustive work, infused with much technical (and accurate) information, yet easy to read. Certainly, the wealth of picture content serves a useful purpose in complementing the actual reading material, so that it becomes more meaningful and interesting to the average reader, non-rocket science types, such as myself.

Stay tuned . . .

I worked on the Apollo 11 launch at Kennedy and therefore have a more than passing interest in the subject. This is the first book I have found that is (as far as I can tell) technically perfect. I was sorry when I ran out of book. I especially enjoyed the way Harland included the on-board voice transcripts interspersed with his explanations of what was going on. Lots of good photos and explanatory diagrams. I would rate this 10 stars if it were possible.

My review is similar, in part, to the first reviewee from California. I had seen this one listed but did not purchase it immediatley. I read and collect books on the Mercury to Apollo space program but I had to weigh the price-to-new-presentation format factor of this book before deciding to aquire it.
The first review was enough to make me want to get it and add it to my collection. Some new pictures, in color, were good to see. (Also noted was the fact that there are pictures of Neil Armstrong on the moon. This seems to be mis-represented in other books. The two pictures are of him in the background and not a "tourist" style shot.)
What I liked the most was the commentary between the astronauts and Mission Control. I had not read as complete of a dialoge from lift off to splash down as I had in this book. This type of material may have been covered in other books that I have not yet discovered or read, such as the NASA Mission Report book series by Robert Goodwin.
I enjoyed the layout and informative interpretation of the material. I thought that it was another good version of an "old" story.

If you are new to the Apollo programme, and want a concise chronological account of the Apollo 11 mission, here's the perfect book.

The story is all here: Astronaut biographies, preparations, launch, lunar traverse, orbit, landing, ascent, and recovery. The beauty of this book is the narrative is a mixture of the authors research, NASA transcripts, and historical archives.
There is liberal use of b&w and colour photographs, and diagrams from NASA flight plans.

All this added together gives the reader the mission from the more important viewpoints, and you can imagine yourself right in the middle of all the unfolding drama.

Highly recommended.

This is an incredible book. It is thoroughly researched and has information about the composition of the lunar samples as well as everything possible about the crew and the flight plus some great photos of the moon landing and Eagle and Columbia during the TLI. A very good book and a wise choice for anyone interested in the Apollo 11 mission.

I have read many books on the Apollo program, and while I can't pick a single favorite, "The First Men on the Moon" by David Harland is definitely on the top rung. The book is suitable for anyone, from a senior aerospace engineer to someone totally new to reading about space exploration, and therein resides the genius of this book: the newcomers have things methodically explained in a logical manner allowing them to understand the intricacies of the mission, while the more advanced reader will find a familiar story retold with alluring details and dazzling thoroughness.

This book is more focused on the Apollo 11 mission than most general histories of the program, and that allows much more in-depth discussion on the specifics of the first lunar landing. The book balances interesting technical history (engineers will not be disappointed) with personal accounts of the mission, all placed in a greater framework of the history of the program and politics of the era.

I have never read a Springer-Praxis book that I didn't like, but this one is truly something special. The book is fairly expensive, but it is a very high quality product with excellent illustrations, and is perhaps the best single volume account of the Apollo 11 mission available. I could not recommend this book more highly.

I've been into studying the early manned space program for a number of years now and read about 40-50 books on the subject. After a while you start to be able to discern between authors who know the subject extremely well and those who don't. It's very clear that David Harland falls into the knows extremely well category when it comes to the Apollo program.

The book in terms of how Mr Harland approaches it is refreshing. Rather than write a book full of dramatic embellishment he instead concentrates on the nuts and bolts of the mission itself. Things like how the wifes of the astronauts watched the launch and the landing are covered but the author doesn't turn them into dramatic scenes. He doesn't try to interpret the feelings of the astronauts, controllers or families but lets us know what they did and when they did it. What comes through is a strong narrative of the events themselves without the embellishment.

This book is a must for both hard core and casual readers of the subject. The casual reader will develop a greater understanding of linear events while the hard core Apollo enthusiast will enjoy the nuts and bolts of the procedures involved in the mission. In the end this is a must have for anyone's Apollo library.

This is one of the best books on the subject of the Apollo 11 moon landing and walk.
It covers more detailed information than any other book that I have read on the subject including the books written by
Michael Collins.

This is WAY too pricey for a Kindle edition! I'll buy the regular edition if I'm going to pay more than $20!

This book was in excellent condition. I gave it as a gift. Delivery was prompt.