Customer Reviews

First on the Moon

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

 

 

This was originally published in 1970, and consists largely of information obtained via the lucrative 'Life' magazine contract that began with the Mercury 7 astronauts. The book is mostly long passages of quotes from Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin, as well as others peripherally related to the mission (families, other astronauts, NASA officials, etc.) sequenced to fit into the defined chapters of the book. Ostensibly Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin are the 'authors' which is true to the extent that they provided the quotes that make up much of the book during interviews by 'Life', but the book was actually written by 'Life' employees.

Having said that, it is not a bad book, it is just very commercial and polished, with mostly a sanitized up close and personal view of the mission through the astronaut's eyes. In that regard, it is quite good: it does shed light on the lives of the three astronauts pre Apollo 11, and is particularly good in discussing background information on childhood, early flying careers, etc. It is particularly useful in relating information on Neil Armstrong, perhaps the most enigmatic of all the Apollo astronauts. That is the main strength of the book: it is a human interest story right out of 'Life' lengthened to 400 plus pages.

On the downside, the book tends to idealize the astronauts and NASA into supermen, and acts as if they have no faults. For this reason I recommend "Carrying the Fire", the superb book by Michael Collins for a true, unvarnished, insider's look at the astronauts and NASA. This book was obviously written immediately after Apollo 11 splashed down in July, 1969. For this reason, it is unable to really place Apollo in historical perspective as well as some of the more recent books have been able to. As for technical information, there really isn't a lot. Of course, that's not the focus of the book, either. The technical information that is presented is generally accurate and well explained, however.

Three stars overall. A good human interest story, but many subsequent books have done a better overall job of appraising Apollo 11 and it's impact.

While this is not the be all end all of astronaut books..it was written mostly by Life magazine, but with a great deal of attributed comments by the famous three. It is however one of the most all encompassing books about what goes into a spaceflight..I have read all the books, and this one is a happy blend of good background and enjoyable reading material about the lives and the stresses of the astronauts and their families and friends, and also delves pretty well into the technical aspects, but you do not need a degree in astrophyscis to understand..it's not rocket science, but it is about rocket science, so it's a fun and enjoyable read. Give it a shot, worth the price if you are a NASA and moonwalker fan. Fly NAVY!

This book was originally published in 1970 and, for 20 years hence, was the gold standard of books on manned spaceflight. It was written by Gene Farmer and Dora Jane Hamblin who were given unprecedented access to the Apollo program through the famous Life Magazine contract.

The 400 page epic is a stylish, and highly detailed, account of the Apollo 11 experience which dwells not just around interviews with the Apollo 11 crew but includes an in depth narrative of, seemingly, every aspect of the Apollo era from an explanation of the guidance systems aboard the space craft to the ingredients of the Moonlander Cocktail being served in the bars along the Cocoa Beach strip. It brilliantly captures the headyness of the times using 1970 speak, such as "Cape Kennedy", and "Manned Spacecraft Center" to rekindle the feeling of elation that was in the air at the time of the first moon landing. You will not find this aspect in any of the 25-years-after-the-fact histories that have been written on the Apollo program since.

The book has style, with chapter titles such as "Into the Vasty Deep", "The Ecliptic", and "I vunder vere Guenter Vendt?". You can open this book to almost any page and start reading; it will suck you into the incredible human interest story of what it meant to fly to the moon in 1969. The Apollo 11 mission is followed chronologically with many side bar off-shoots that explore the lives of the NASA engineers and technicians, and the neighbours and friends of the astronauts. This all works together to backfill the story of how Apollo 11 came into being, through the pioneering days of Mercury and Gemini, and through the blood, sweat, and tears of many individuals.

I love this book because it captures the essence of an era when the sky was the limit. This is not just a book, it's a piece of history and I'm glad Barnes and Noble had the good sense to recognize that and re-publish the volume for a new generation to enjoy.