Moon Shot : The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon [Hardcover]

Alan Shepard (Author), Deke Slayton (Author), Jay Barbree (Author), Howard Benedict (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1994

Marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first moon landing, two former astronauts tell of the intense human drama behind the lunar race between two superpowers, and of the sacrifices and risks asked of the American crew.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Shepard and the late Slayton, two of the original Mercury astronauts, here team up with two veteran space reporters to produce a firsthand account of the space program's early days. The narrative is at its best when it focuses on the astronauts' flight experiences-Shepard's brief Mercury flight, his lunar landing mission ten years later, and Slayton's long-delayed trip into space aboard the last Apollo mission in 1975. On the down side, its use of re-created conversations that pass as exposition weaken the narrative, making it sound more like a screenplay prospectus than a space history. For example, it is doubtful that John Glenn had to explain to his fellow astronauts what the Saturn launch vehicle was. One comes away wishing for more insight into what it was like to walk on the moon and less about the astronauts' pranks and peccadillos. Still, with the book's publication timed to coincide with this July's 25th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing, this title may see some demand.
--Thomas Frieling, Bainbridge Coll., Ga.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

It's hard to believe, but most teens and people in their early twenties don't remember Americans walking on the moon. This book, written lovingly by two of the most respected astronauts in U.S. history, will remedy that. Journalists Jay Barbree and Howard Benedict organized the material, and they portray Shepard and Slayton as two close friends who shared the dream of many children of the 1960s: to fly in outer space. Sadly, Shepard, after becoming the first American in space in a mere hour's trip, developed inner ear problems that prevented him from going back, and Slayton's irregular heartbeat kept him from going at all. Meanwhile, President Kennedy escalated the space race to get a leg up on the Russians. Despite covering some of the same ground as Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff, Shepard and Slayton vividly portray the great bond uniting the original Mercury Seven. The most terrifying chapter describes the fire on the launchpad that killed three Apollo 1 astronauts, but problems on many flights (unbeknownst to TV viewers) were only solved by the skill of the astronauts as pilots. Shepard and Slayton are emphatic about environmental issues (having seen the Earth from a unique viewpoint), and Shepard's eventual moon shot is only topped by Slayton's emotional reaction to being cleared to fly the Apollo-Soyuz mission to dock with Russian cosmonauts, with whom he became fast friends. Expect much demand. Joe Collins

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Turner Publishing; 1st edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878685546
• ISBN-13: 978-1878685544
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Superficial and disappointing, March 16, 2000

By 

B. C. Roy Watson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moon Shot : The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon (Hardcover)

First, so you know, I'm a lifelong fan of the space program. I was five years old when Apollo 11 landed, and, like many of that age, caught a feverish interest in space travel and the people who actually did what I dreamed of doing.

I'm not saying that to claim a special expertise on the topic, but to confess that I'm far from impartial when reviewing a book like this. The fact is, I'd probably find Frank Borman's grocery list or John Young's dog's veterinary records intensely fascinating.

More's the pity, since I can't say the same for Moon Shot. Other reviewers have noted that the authors seem to have been unable to make up their minds whether they were writing a history of the space program, or a joint autobiography. Because of this, it fails at both. The coverage of the space program is haphazard, focusing on the authors' accomplishments while ignoring many other significant people and events. As a biography, Moon Shot leaves much to be desired, giving little information on Shepard's or Slayton's backgrounds, reasons for becoming astronauts, etc. If you're looking for an astronaut autobiography and a detailed account of part of Project Apollo, Jim Lovell's book, Lost Moon, does a much better job of putting both in one package.

Moon Shot does not go in depth into what it does cover. Instead, the major parts of each event are duly recited, and the narrative goes no further. Worse, the book breaks no new ground, either. When I bought Moon Shot, I expected that, since I would be reading recollections of people who directly participated in Project Apollo, I would be treated to unusual viewpoints and to information not readily available elsewhere. But, at no time while reading the book was I surprised. There was nothing in Moon Shot which made me say to myself, "Wow, I didn't know that."

Moon Shot suffers from having been published at about the same time as Andrew Chaikin's masterpiece, A Man On The Moon. At first glance, Moon Shot looks weak and inept by comparison to Chaikin's thorough historical account. This is unfortunate and unfair. While it may not be clear what the authors intended Moon Shot to be, it seems obvious that Shepard and Slayton never planned to write something on the scale of A Man On The Moon.

But, even if one accepts Moon Shot for what it is - light coverage of selected parts of the authors' experiences in the space program - the book still falls short. In the world of Moon Shot, there are no serious rivalries, no harsh animosities among the astronauts, and everyone happily performs above and beyond the call of duty every day. Shepard's well-known hostile managerial style as head of the astronaut office is represented here as little more than occasional grumpiness. John Glenn's behind-the-scenes efforts to knock Shepard out of the first manned Mercury flight after the selection had been made are barely mentioned.

Don't get me wrong - I have no desire to bash legends. But neither do I want to read saccharine and be told it is history. And the fact is, Moon Shot often reads more like a NASA press release than like a well-balanced account of the facts.

In summary, the only positive thing I can say about Moon Shot is that it has two heroes' names on the cover. Sadly, both men passed away soon after Moon Shot was published. Too bad they didn't write a better, well deserved epitath for themselves.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Needs a Broader Scope, June 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Moon Shot : The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon (Hardcover)

Deke Slayton and Al Shepard's book is a fine, well-written overview of the American space program. It unfortunately misses in several ways.

First, the book can't decide if it's an autobiography or not. It's "the inside story," but it concentrates on Shepard's two flights and Slayton's overrated Apollo-Soyuz mission. The plot is skewed towards the authors, which doesn't make sense considering it's written in the third person.

I found this third-person narrative approach irritating. I almost felt as if the ghostwriters chose to describe the events in this manner so they could feed the astronauts' egos further. Apollo books often come face-to-face with the astronauts' infamous cockiness, but this book makes no attempt to hide it. Shepard described himself as a "leading test pilot, astronaut, explorer, adventurer, master of wings and rocket fire, and hero to millions." All this may be true but you're not supposed to say it about yourself.

It also needs more character development. It doesn't go beyond saying that Slayton and Shepard were friends. I got tired of being told outright of the friendship. I wanted to be told about it, not of it. I felt like I wanted to know the authors better, especially since they were the focus. On top of that, several crucial people such as Ed Mitchell (Shepard's lunar module pilot) are just names here- they are not given any substance.

It also concocts stupid commentary for narrative purposes. For example, to get across a point the book may recount a "conversation" between Slayton and Shepard that is so corny as to be all but useless. This is a subtle, but unfortunate problem with this book.

The final downfall of this book is its unwillingness to discuss the other Apollo missions. Apollos 15 and 16 are passed over in a paragraph-- and Apollo 17 got a whole page because the future of the program needed to be stressed to segway into Slayton's Apollo-Soyuz mission.

Most importantly, this book fails to convey the magic and wonder of spaceflight. It fell victim to poor writing-- the descriptions of being on the moon were too often reduced to cliche.

Here's what's good about this book. It does tell the "inside story" of the Apollo missions-- and does faithfully describe the missions. It serves as a decent, quick-read overview of Apollo.

For the complete, longer story read Andrew Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon." For a more specific, personal, and readable story of a specific mission, read Gene Cernan's "Last Man on the Moon." But don't read "Moon Shot."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Has its moments that are pretty good, October 28, 2006

By 

T. Burket "tburket" (Potomac, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moon Shot : The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon (Hardcover)

I re-visited this book, which I read (and got autographed by Shepard) when it was new, after watching the great "From the Earth to the Moon" series again. The book has its four-star moments, but I settled for three.

The content is not particularly sophisticated, and to be honest, the competition among the Apollo books is strong. For example, books by Lovell and Cernan are both better than this one. Even so, it's worth reading by students of the space program for the additional perspective and occasion detail.

Perhaps a root problem is that the book is a mixture of autobiography and story of the space program, with the perspective of the two astronauts not given very often. When that happened effectively, the book was at its best. I liked stories such as NASA's attempt to keep secret who had gotten the first flight, Deke's grounding, Shepard's return to flight status, Apollo 14, and Deke's reaction to the Apollo 1 fire. There are several scenes like that, enough to make the book worthwhile.

In contrast, some other incidents had superfluous reference to the authors. I didn't really care that Deke and Al sort-of high-fived each other when Apollo 11 landed. Their thoughts on the end of the Apollo program or what the program really meant to them aren't really captured. Few insightful comments about the other astronauts were made (unlike Cernan's book). Many opportunities were lost.

The Apollo-Soyuz mission is presented as a relatively big deal, which it was to Deke, obviously. In reality, it was pretty meaningless, other than as an exercise in international cooperation.

Deke comes across pretty well in other books and in the "From the Earth to the Moon" series. His character shines at times here, too. Maybe some remarks by other people about Deke, besides from Shepard, would have helped convey that image. How did others feel about how Deke ran the astronaut office, which was his core contribution to the space program? You won't find that in this book.