A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin
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Book Reviews of A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts
Book Review: The ultimate Apollo work.
Summary: 5 Stars
Andrew Chaikin devoted several years of his life to interviewing Apollo participants, including the astronauts. His vast knowledge and comprehension of Apollo era events makes A MAN ON THE MOON an essential resource for the serious researcher or the casual reader. This book brings Apollo to life as if was something that just happened. The three volume set includes carefully selected images add tremendous value to Chaikin's account of the most important events in recent human history.Book Review: Fascinating
Summary: 5 Stars
Andrew Chaiken has proven himself as America's premier space historian with this great work. The basis for the HBO Miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon".This book is the culmination of hundreds of hours or interviews with those involved in America's space efforts and even more time doing his own research. The end result is a fascinationg book that gives the reader an insider's feel to the space race.
I reccommend this book to anyone with strong interest in the NASA Apollo project. This is truly a classic book and an integral part of any literary collection.
Book Review: Inspiring portrait of the Apollo program's human side
Summary: 5 Stars
Andrew Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon" is an authoritative and inspiring portrait of the Apollo program's human side. While other accounts focus tightly on technical or scientific detail, where most astronaut biographies offer only the perspective of a single individual, this book reaches for the big picture, the grand historical and spiritual implications of the manned lunar landings.Amidst the cultural earthquakes of the 60's, the Vietnam War and the din of protest, the author claims, we have never fully come to grips with the fact that Man has walked on another world, that we became a people without limits. Chaikin sets out to recount the story of the lunar voyages that the astronauts never wrote, and to bridge the gap between the high-tech realm of spaceflight and everyday experience. Based on extensive interviews with all surviving moon voyagers, "A Man on the Moon" is an important historical document as much as it is a great read.
Setting the tone, a short prologue mixes Kennedy's famous "before this decade is out" challenge with the story of how Pete Conrad, naval test pilot at Miramar and future moonwalker, learned of his selection as an astronaut in 1962. Throughout the book, Chaikin strives to blend the historical and the human dimensions of the space program. Where some of the lesser astronaut biographies stay on the surface and resort to "fighter jock" clichés, he succeeds at capturing the full spirit and emotional depth, be it the tragic Apollo 1 fire and subsequent recovery, the pompous triumph of Apollos 8 and 11, the drama and narrow escape of Apollo 13.
Every landing mission is assigned its own chapter and unique tone. The close comradeship of the Apollo 12 crew, "Sailors on the Ocean of Storms". The personal exorcism that Apollo 14 was to Commander Al Shepard, who had been grounded for many years. The glorious journey of scientific exploration undertaken by Apollo 15, first of the longer lunar rover missions. Naturally, some flights and astronauts receive more attention than others; but while Apollo 7, 9 and 10 are passed over quickly in comparison, even they or the Mercury and Gemini programs are treated more thoroughly than in some lesser accounts. On the whole, "A Man on the Moon" offers excellent detail for such an all-encompassing work. Hundreds of superbly chosen photographs and diagrams, biographical astronaut information and a thoughtful epilogue round out the book. The writing is rich and captivating throughout.
While there is better technical or scientific information to be found in other, more specialised works, Chaikin's book was intended to portray the man inside the space suit, to make us feel what they felt. At that it succeeds as brilliantly as the written word possibly can, without ever over-simplifying or fictionalising the story of this great adventure. Therein lies the achievement of "A Man on the Moon". As a guide for the casually interested reader, or an introduction for the budding specialist, this is the definite book on the Apollo program.
Book Review: A Collector's Item
Summary: 5 Stars
I agree with other positive reviews of Chaikin's comprehensive account of the Apollo program, but would like to specifically commend Chaikin and Time Life for taking this story to the next level by lavishly illustrating it as a 3-volume box set with a fantastic collection of photos and original art, including paintings by astronaut Alan Bean. This deluxe, illustrated version has not received the press it deserved!Book Review: Unbelievable
Summary: 5 Stars
Of the numerous books available on the Apollo missions this has got to be one of the best. This was the first book I read on NASA and of the numerous ones I have read since I still consider it to be the best. A book which you can not help but re-read time and time again. One thing that makes this book different from a lot of the others is that Chaikin does not report facts from a personal viewpoint using his memory of what occurred. This book has been produced from a great deal of research aand is a result of a large input from numerous people involved, rather form the standpoint of one individual. Chaikin is a master in the art of keeping the reader interested at every turn. There are at times where you hold your breath when reading this book in anticipation of a critical moment, such as launch or LOI. An enjoyable read at any time of the day, or night!!