Missions to the Moon: The Complete Story of Man's Greatest Adventure [Hardcover]

Rod Pyle (Author), Gene Kranz (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009

Missions to the Moon traces our quest to explore this final frontier, starting with the deadly development of German V1s and V2s in the Second World War, through the pioneering adventures of the Apollo moon-landing program, and culminating in the future of lunar exploration with the recent missions by China, Japan, and Europe.

Through 150 stunning photographs and 20 beautifully recreated rare facsimile documents that almost make you feel like part of the crew, we witness the lethal Apollo 1 fire; celebrate the success of Apollo 8, the first manned spacecraft to orbit a celestial body; marvel at Apollo 11 and the first man to land on the moon; and share the dangers endured by the astronauts aboard the ill-fated Apollo 13.

These are events the whole word watched in rapt attention. Now everyone can relive the experience or enjoy it for the first time.

The historic facsimile documents include:

• Werner von Braun’s 1964 design for a space station

• A 1969 issue of the USSR newspaper Pravda, celebrating the success of Soyuz 4 and 5

• The official NASA photograph of the Apollo 7 flight crew

• The mission report from Apollo 11, as well as the descent map

• The Apollo 13 flight log

• A memo outlining future plans for Apollos 18, 19, and 20 before they were cancelled

• And more!

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rod Pyle is a writer, documentary filmmaker, and college professor. He has written for numerous science and science fiction magazines. He lives in Pasadena, California.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402769806
• ISBN-13: 978-1402769801
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 12.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,108,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Few of us have a chance to do what we really love and get paid for it. After years of working in many industries, including television, new media, academia and others, I have settled upon documentary production and writing. From this has come a rare opportunity to write books. I realize that the chance to create them is a blessing. I hope you enjoy them.

Like many of my generation, I was enthralled by the flights of Mercury, Gemini, and especially Apollo. As those ghostly images came down from the moon, improving on each flight, I stayed home from high school to savor every moment the networks were willing to show us (at the expense of the daytime soaps, which eventually won the airtime battle). As I grew older and matured into a career and family life, fond memories of NASA's "Golden Years" stayed with me. And then came the opportunities to write first "In Their Own Words: The Space Race" (an 8-hour audiobook), and later, "Destination Moon." In all cases the publishers were a delight to work with and in both cases the product is, I hope, something that will impart to you the thrill of reliving those experiences. Please feel free to share your thoughts after you read or listen to them.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tis the season..., June 29, 2009

By 

Roger D. Launius "Historian" (Washington, D.C., United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Missions to the Moon: The Complete Story of Man's Greatest Adventure (Hardcover)

...for large format illustrated histories of the Apollo program. The first Moon landing took place on July 20, 1969, forty years ago. As a result a lot of new books have appeared, all with stunning visuals and varying degrees of quality in historical text. This is one such book, but with a difference. Of course, the imagery published in it is superb. There are all of the obligatory photographs, images that have become iconic as time has passed, as well as others less well-known that help to illustrate the work. As is the case for other large illustrated histories the images are the central aspect of "Missions to the Moon." Five or six usually appear on every oversized page, numbers keying them to a legend that contains captions. A short narrative concerning whatever subject dominates the two-page spread supports the imagery, but certainly does not supplant it.

The truly unique feature of this book is a succession of pockets tipped into the pages containing a variety of primary source documents. Turn to the set of spreads on Apollo 11 (pp. 30-37), for instance, and readers will find facsimile reproductions of a "Lunar Module Descent Monitoring Chart--Sheet 2" available as a fold out, the summary of the "Apollo 11 Mission Report," and a memorandum entitled, "Single-trip insurance for Apollo 11 crew," dated July 7, 1969. This type of documentary material, all reproduced to look like the original, are scattered throughout "Missions to the Moon." All of this material is readily available from NASA, but for the spaceflight memorabilia collector or the Apollo geek, which I proudly claim to be the latter if not the former, this is a real attraction of the volume. It's fun to go through the book and see what little "goodies" author Pyle and the publisher decided to include at various points in the text.

"Missions to the Moon" is a fun book and a nice commemorative volume appearing at the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing. Enjoy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book about the historical, technical, and human aspects of space travel, June 19, 2009

By 

A.M. (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Missions to the Moon: The Complete Story of Man's Greatest Adventure (Hardcover)

When I first got "Missions to the Moon," I didn't have time to give it a thorough reading. But I really wanted to take a look and kept picking it up for a few minutes at a time. These "flip-throughs" were entertaining and it was always hard to put the book down.

Later, I finally gave it my undivided attention. Its tale, spanning decades, is gripping. Even when I knew the outcome of a mission (such as the famous Apollo 13), my heart rate went up while reading the suspenseful parts. The facsimiles of newspaper articles, sketches, and letters make the reading experience more immediate. And the point of view balances the human and technical sides of these stories--geeks can revel in the minutiae of the diagrams and specs, while more casual fans of space travel will enjoy the personal, funny, and even odd details in each chapter.

I finished the book feeling like I had a much better "big picture" understanding of the history of space travel, and that I had simultaneously learned about each major event and mission in a detailed and very memorable way. Now I'm enjoying rereading individual chapters, poring over the details and putting them in more specific context.

I'm looking forward to sharing this with my six-year-old nephew (on a supervised basis--I don't want sticky fingerprints on the lovely facsimiles!), and planning to give a copy to my parents. "Missions to the Moon" does a great job of presenting information that would appeal to space travel fans of any age or level.

5.0 out of 5 stars Over 150 photos and 20 facsimile documents offer testimony to efforts, November 17, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Missions to the Moon: The Complete Story of Man's Greatest Adventure (Hardcover)

MISSIONS TO THE MOON: THE COMPLETE STORY OF MAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE offers a boxed, slipcased keepsake survey of man's quest to explore the moon, from the early development of the German V1 and V2 weapons to the Apollo moon landings. Over 150 photos and 20 facsimile documents offer testimony to efforts and removable pieces not appropriate for library lending, but perfect for a space fan's private collection.