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A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts Paperback – Illustrated, August 28, 2007

by Andrew Chaikin (Author), Tom Hanks (Foreword)

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"The authoritative masterpiece" (L. A. Times) on the Apollo space program and NASA's journey to the moon

This acclaimed portrait of heroism and ingenuity captures a watershed moment in human history. The astronauts themselves have called it the definitive account of their missions. On the night of July 20, 1969, our world changed forever when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Based on in-depth interviews with twenty-three of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who struggled to get the program moving, A Man on the Moon conveys every aspect of the Apollo missions with breathtaking immediacy and stunning detail.

A Man on the Moon is also the basis for the acclaimed miniseries produced by Tom Hanks, From the Earth to the Moon, now airing and streaming again on HBO in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Print length

720 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

August 28, 2007
Dimensions

5.26 x 1.53 x 7.99 inches
ISBN-10

014311235X
ISBN-13

978-0143112358
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Recounts in loving detail the standing Apollo epic . . . with verve and intelligence."
-The New York Times Book Review

"The power of A Man on the Moon truly astounded me. . . . I found myself transported, reminded of all that was wonderful about Apollo. I laughed and cried."
-Dava Sobel, author of Longitude and Galileo's Daughter

"More inside stories, more details, recollections, and feelings of all the men who traveled to the moon than any other account of the Apollo program."
-The Christian Science Monitor

About the Author

Andrew Chaikin is the author of the acclaimed A Man on the Moon and several other books about space. He is a commentator for NPR’s Morning Edition and had appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, Fresh Air, and Talk of the Nation.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Illustrated edition (August 28, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 720 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014311235X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143112358
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.26 x 1.53 x 7.99 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #215,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #140 in Astronautics & Space Flight
- #232 in Aeronautics & Astronautics (Books)
- #262 in History of Engineering & Technology

Customer Reviews:
710 ratings

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Tom Hanks
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Vance Forrest

Brings Out the Space Enthusiast in Us All

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2017

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I’ve long been fascinated with space. I’ve admired our accomplishments from humble beginnings in the 50’s to the pinnacle of human achievement in 1969, and all the way through the shuttle program today. I stand in awe every time I watch footage of a rocket launch. It’s hard to wrap your mind around the magnitude of what we accomplished 50 years ago.

I’ve seen great documentary and highlight reels of space exploration but hadn’t read any detail to get more behind the curtain. So I set out go find a truly engrossing book that chronicled this impressive journey. “A Man on the Moon” delivered in every detail.

This book follows closely the astronauts of each mission. They are the key theme. The book provides key details into the their character, because the fortitude of what it took to be an astronaut was founded on something truly special. It was different for all of them, but they all shared an unyielding conviction. Their conviction drove them to do great things, brought out the best in each other. My ego always told me I could have been an astronaut and I was jealous of them especially in the early NASA days, but after reading this book I’m not sure I had the “right stuff”

There are “sciency” parts of the book but Chaikin does a great job simplifying technical topics. Like summarizing orbital dynamics and rendezvous.

The book also goes beyond man and machine, and dives into the culture at the time. The challenges faced changing public and political opinion. They had carts blanche for a while, but then what?

My admiration and wonder were amplified by this book. It’s hard not to respect all the missions. Sure we think of Apollo 11 landing on the moon and Apollo 13 with the tremendous story on “how do you get home”, but this books rings out the significance of each mission. Apollo 8 was a very daring mission; first men around the moon. Come to find out the Apollo 9 crew passed on it? How could anyone do that? These men were at their core pilots as well. Those fascinating details are what bolstered respect.

The saddest part was finishing it. It’s sad because we know now after 50 years we haven’t returned, and when you read this it’s heartbreaking to see how they thought their journey was just the beginning. The book did such a good job of engrossing me in that world, it saddened me to come back to reality and recognize the little progress we’ve made. There has been some no doubt. But compared to what was accomplished in a matter of 10 years and on primitive technology by today’s standards, makes the early years of NASA further impressive. I might even be a little jealous.

I absolutely recommend this book, from the fleeting interested person to the most intense space junky out there. It chronicles one greatest chapters in our history and will leave you with a new found respect.

I recommend reading this book and “Failure is Not an Option” because it took way more than astronauts to get to the moon. It’ll help you recognize the human power and unsung heroes pivotal to conquering space.

31 people found this helpful

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dj

The quintessential history on project Apollo

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

One cannot overstate the importance of Andrew Chaikin's book on the Apollo program. Many years in the making, Chaikin took the time to track down and interview nearly all of the 24 astronauts who flew to the moon during project Apollo (I believe the only person he missed was Jack Swiegert, Apollo 13's command module pilot, who passed away in 1982 before writing this book). On top of the astronauts themselves, Chaikin spent time interviewing individuals who didn't fly these missions, but who were equally important to its success.

The book is largely written chronologically, beginning with the tragedy of Apollo 1. Background information on projects Mercury and Gemini aren't required to enjoy this book, and when required, Chaikin does a marvelous job of bringing forward events prior to Apollo to move the book along smoothly. Each manned mission is covered in about as much detail as possible, with the exceptions of maybe Apollo 7 (which never went to the moon, but was a test of the command/service modules in earth orbit), or Apollo 9 (an earth orbit test of the CSM and lunar modules). References are drawn to these two missions where necessary, but they do not receive the in-depth treatment each of the others receives. What stood out to me, which I never knew before reading this book, was the number of mechanical difficulties encountered along the way, and how many times the mission commander would be ready to abort before a solution was reached. Chaikin aptly illustrates the sheer resolve, intelligence, and fast thinking of the crew and ground crews during each mission when things went awry. So the book presents the reader with actual life or death cliffhangers or obstacles to a successful mission, and it makes for excellent reading.

I was also impressed with Chaikin's ability to explain how things in space, in orbit, in a rocket engine, in a volcano, or on the moon (ad infinitum) actually WORK. He doesn't overwhelm the reader with technical jargon (there are other books for that), and he illustrates difficult concepts with archetypes that most readers can relate to. One example comes to mind in how he described Buzz Aldrin's doctoral dissertation on orbital rendezvous techniques, and how this allowed Buzz to discuss "counter-intuitive maneuvers" to the other astronauts. Chaikin is a master of explaining things so anyone can understand.

Another strength of this book is shown in Chaikin's ability to glean the thoughts and feelings of the astronauts and to write those down both accurately and intimately. With each turn of the page, I felt I knew the astronauts like one of their peers. I could feel Frank Borman's intense aversion to take risks the first time circling the moon, Armstrong's technical expertise and grace under pressure in looking for an adequate landing spot, Pete Conrad's virtual "kid in a candy store" excitement en route to the moon, Jim Lovell's dismay when his mission was lost, Al Shepard's tears of joy as he stepped off the LM, Dave Scott's excitement in commanding the first J-mission, John Young's remorse at snapping the ALSEP power cable, Jack Schmitt's struggles to be the first scientist to fly to the moon (and Joe Engle's resentment as a result), and Gene Cernan's prophetic final words as the last moonwalker (for the time being). In a word, Chaikin takes you along for each mission, and you will feel as if you are right there working alongside the astronauts.

This book was much better than I ever expected. I found myself racing home from work each day to read it, and despite its massive size (over 500 pages), it felt like a quick, engaging read. Chaikin has done a wonderful service to the history of NASA and the Apollo missions. If I had to choose an authoritative, quintessential text on lunar exploration, this is book is where it all starts, and where it all ends.

40 people found this helpful

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Ben

Excellent and manageable (to read) account of the Apollo program

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

I read Tom Wolfe's classic "The Right Stuff" prior to this book - it's about the Gemini program that preceded Apollo, is very funny and a good introduction.
A Man on the Moon is much more serious though not unamusing in places and very readable. 50 years on, most people, myself included, have forgotten how extensive the Space Program was. We just about remember Neil Armstrong and Buzz Lightyear sorry Aldrin (joke!) but forget there were 5 further moon landings plus Apollo 13, the "successful failure" which was then followed by the Space Station and the Space Shuttle. This book covers the whole program without being overwhelming

6 people found this helpful

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P. Thomas

Brilliant Description of the Apollo Missions

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a great book, bringing back memories from my early teens and a visit to Kennedy Space centre in '87, the book gives a great sense of the huge engineering and computational challenges and the sheer determination to succeed.

The only minor downside for me is the 9 point font size making the text pages very dense and not so easy to read as it would have been for me at the time of this mission!!

8 people found this helpful

DrTris

Seminal - Must Have Apollo Work

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

Great book about the missions and Apollo astronauts . First book I ever read on the Space Race and really put a hook in me . I'd rate it as a must have along with the Cox book. Great research and detail without being impenetrable . I've had the paperback twice - both times the damn thing has fallen apart with pages coming away in chunks from the spine so caveat emptor.

12 people found this helpful

Ian Thomson

A great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

A classic book of the Apollo missions, with stories of many of the astronauts and ground staff. It formed the basis of the Tom Hanks/Ron Howard miniseries 'From the Earth to the Moon' and is one of the essential books to read if you want to know about the Apollo programme. Thoroughly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

P. Stephens

Gives real insight into what it was like to be there

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2005

Verified Purchase

First the negative points. This books isn't for the seriously technically-minded (although you do pick up a lot of technical info along the way). And a lot of it - the portraits of the astronaut's lives, the in-house NASA politics and so on - will already be familiar if you've read/seen The Right Stuff or Apollo 13.
Where the book triumphs, magnificently, is in giving a sense of what it was actually like to be on the moon. You come away feeling as if you'd been there with the astronauts. The author's key technique is to tell you what they were thinking, and how they felt, as they were exploring the surface. This lets you imagine how you'd have felt in the same place.
The book did, however, remind me of one reason why the later Apollo missions failed to hold the public's interest (or mine, at least) - the relentless focus on geology. Unfortunately the book's fidelity to its subject means that its later chapters are affected in much the same way. After the 50th (or was it 100th?) description of a rock being picked up, I was thinking "wasn't there *anything* else they could have done up there?", and never wanting to hear the word "basalt" again.
Nevertheless, this is an excellent book, and well worth reading, whether you're a "rookie" or veteran of space exploration literature.

39 people found this helpful

RR1987

Inspiring

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

A beautiful book that marries wit and charm, with enough technical and contextual information to keep all types of readers engaged. Although written over a quarter of a century ago, about events that transpired 50 years ago, the stories are as fresh and indelible as the immortal boot prints left by the men of Apollo on the moon. I would highly recommend.

One person found this helpful

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