Book Description
NASA's Apollo answered President Kennedy's 1961 directive to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of the decade. The astronauts, scientists, and mission control operators who took part in the fifteen manned Apollo missions not only accomplished this memorable triumph of courage and technical ingenuity, they stirred the world's imagination and redefined the notion of what is truly possible.
In this captivating story of adventure and exploration, expert David West Reynolds presents a complete and engaging reconstruction of all the key events and personalities in the Apollo program. From the thrilling experiences of the astronauts to the men of extraordinary vision and skill who built a reality out of a dream, Reynolds captures the drama of this epic journey.
Rendering complex and technical material into accessible terms for the uninitiated reader, while providing unusual details for the aficionado, Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon takes you along on the most unforgettable ride of the twentieth century.
Customer Reviews:
Stunning tribute.......2006-11-26
A visual gem; this book is one that even those with just a passing interest in space history would enjoy. In addition to the numerous photos, the text is extremely cogent and well written. It covers all major aspects of the apollo program in a highly informative and entertaining manner. The book is of a very high quality and will not disappoint.
Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon.......2006-11-11
Outstanding book. It should be required reading for kids in high school. The only downside to this book is that it is printed in China. It's rather ridiculous to read about America's greatest achievement in a book printed by communist Chinese.
Apollo: Epic Journey (how America won the cold war).......2006-08-15
This is a very comprehensive read which takes you from the beginning of the space age through to what might have been if the momentum had not been lost around 1970.
The illustrations are some of the best I've ever seen and counterpoint the text superbly. There are none which are there just to look good, they all have a well defined reason for being where they are in the body of the book.
There is plenty of input from the people who were involved and a lot of the adventures are recalled in quite thrilling prose. It even manages to convince the reader that the technology really was there to establish bases on the moon and go to mars using the Saturn V booster. It leaves the reader with a clear feeling of NASA's betrayal by Richard Nixon, portaying him, albeit subtly, as someone willing to take the credit for Kennedy's commitment but unwilling to extend the legacy.
The book is somewhat spoiled by the fact that it is written very much from a cold war perspective. That the great and the good of the American people can overcome any adversary and that all other ideologies are wrong. A non-American is likely to find this a little sycophantic and it does leave a sour taste in the mouth in view of recent political activity, regardless of your enthusiasm for the subject. That it acknowledges that the space shuttle has failed in it's charter on just about every level since it's conception compounds the folly of the writer.
This should not put you off from buying this book. First hand accounts from the astronauts and the eye candy in this book alone make it worth the price. Yet it is the story it tells which is most compelling. It's an absolute must for any enthusiast. Even the All-American (which to be fair, it was) narrative is not sickly enough to stop me recommending it
Inspiring History of the Space Program.......2006-06-30
This book was a great resource to learn in depth about the history, people, technology and politics which was the genesis of the space program. Also, what the author captures uniquely well is the sense of imagination and wonder involved - the dream of space. That one reviewer dismisses this as 'childish' and 'inaccurate' is sad, because it's exactly that which inspired so many in America and the world, to look to the stars and understand the reach of human potential. (That includes me - as a child, btw). The personalities of the people who helped drive the program are inseparable from what was accomplished, and I was fascinated to hear more about figures like Von Braun and the Apollo astronauts. Though the writing can wax a little poetic at times, it's more than balanced by a thorough level of historical and technical detail.
I highly recommend Apollo as an inspiring book for anyone who has even a moderate interest in space. I think it'd make a great book for younger people with a technical bent too.
Gem for Space Nerds.......2005-11-29
I am a space nerd - majored in space physics, minored in space studies, worked in the space industry. Am enthralled with the Apollo program and have studied it extensively. This book does have a few minor errors, but they in no way detract from the thorough examination of the Apollo program. The book is worth its weight in charts, maps, diagrams and photographs alone. For example, I had never seen maps of the tracks of where each Apollo mission did its EVAs on the moon.
I refute the claim that this book is aimed at children - I doubt any standard kid would understand Delta V and Isp and hypergolic fuels and translunar insertions. I think having a background in rocketry helped me enjoy the book more, not less.
Book Description
It was a time of bold new technology, historic moments, and international jousting on the final frontier. But it was also a time of human drama, of moments less public but no less dramatic in the lives of those who made the golden age of space flight happen. These are the moments and the lives that Into That Silent Sea captures, a book that tells the intimate stories of the men and women, American and Russian, who made the space race their own and gave the era its compelling character.
These pages chronicle a varied and riveting cavalcade of human stories, including a look at Yuri Gagarin’s harrowing childhood in war-ravaged Russia and Alan Shepard’s firm purchase on the American dream. It also examines the controversial career of cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and the remarkable struggle and ultimate disappointment of her American counterparts. It tries to uncover the truth behind the allegations that shadowed Gus Grissom and Scott Carpenter and then allows the reader to share the heart-stopping suspense of Alexei Leonov’s near-fatal first space walk. Through dozens of interviews and access to Russian and American official documents and family records, the authors bring to life the experiences that shaped the lives of the first astronauts and cosmonauts and forever changed their world and ours.
Customer Reviews:
A fresh and very human perspective on the space race.......2007-10-19
It has been almost 50 years since mankind first
slipped the bonds of earth to explore the heavens.
Since then, space exploration has given us some of the
most spectacular and memorable moments in history from
the first moon-landing on Apollo 11 to the drama of
Apollo 13 and the devastation of the Challenger and
Columbia disasters. The material already written on
these programmes would likely stretch from here to the
moon, and many would be forgiven for assuming that
there's nothing new to write on the subject. However,
authors Francis French and Colin Burgess have found a
new angle and made a most worthy contribution to the
history of our greatest adventure.
What separates "Into that Silent Sea" from many other books on the space
programme is that it focuses on the men and women who
made it all possible. This is a people's history of
space and examines that magnificent race from the
perspective of those who lived it and did it: whether
running the programmes or riding the rockets. Through
their genuine interest in the subject matter, Burgess
and French won the trust of the astronauts, cosmonauts
and the lesser-known or forgotten space pioneers who
toiled behind the scenes. The reward for their
dedication and sincerity were stories that in many
cases have never been told before and provide a fresh
perspective on the early days of spaceflight. The end
result is a book that ranks amongst the very best
written on the subject.
Not only does this book provide a most welcome
perspective on a truly remarkable endeavour, but it
is also extremely well written and thoroughly
readable. This book transports you to a time when the
two great superpowers were competing for control of
the ultimate high ground while the rest of the world
watched in awe and perhaps bewilderment. It proves
that while the men and women who rode these rockets
were indeed the best, bravest and brightest of that or
any other time, they were also mere humans with their
own foibles, insecurities, peculiarities and
curiosities.
If you want a truly human history of spaceflight,
this book is among the very best available.
EXCELLENT BOOK!!!!!.......2007-10-04
As a confirmed space geek, I too have read as many books as I could get my hands on .
This book was a great read from cover to cover!!!
I couldn't put it down. I particularly enjoyed reading about the cosmonauts exploits AFTER their historic flights.
Definitely one to put on your gift list.
Into That Silent Sea.......2007-09-06
For many years now I have made presentations on NASA history as well as all of the human space programs. I have focused mainly on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Into That Silent Sea is clearly one of the most well written and authoritative books on the subject that I have ever read. Through exhaustive research and personal contact with the pioneers of space exploration Francis French and Colin Burgess have compiled a treasure. Full of anecdotes, and including much little known information it gives a fascinating insight into what the early days were like for both our astronauts and for the Soviet cosmonauts. Many others who lived this history contribute their perspective as well. I highly recommend this work to all who are interested in the human experience. The book is easy to read, captivating, and one of the most fascinating books that I have found.
Capt. William (Mike) Lucas
US Airways
Space Historian
One of the best I've read!.......2007-08-31
I've been a space geek ever since I was about 1.5 years old and mom made me watch the moon landing in 1969 - I don't remember it, but I did see it!
I've read just about all of the best books on the space program and I thought I had read everything, and knew all the stories - until I read "Into That Silent Sea". The book wasn't a fast one to read, not because it was overly technical, but I just kept reading stuff that I never knew and would re-read the page/paragraph again and say to myself "I never knew that!"
The chapters on the Russian space program were absolutely fascinating and sometimes frightening, I never knew the early Cosmonauts had so many near disasters on re-entry (I won't more and spoil it with details - read the book!). This was the first book I read that I felt I really learned more of the behind the scenes stories of the Russian side of the space race.
Great chapters on the American side of things, Dee O'hara was kind of an unknown figure in the space race (other than the depiction in the "Right Stuff"), but now she has her much deserved place in history with this book also. Fun to read how the early astronauts picked on her too with the "gotchas"!
I just started reading "In the Shadow of the Moon" on my bus commute to work and back. I enjoy the heavy traffic trips - more time to read!
For a long time Andrew Chaikin and Micheal Collins held the spots with the best space books in my opinion. Move over guys, Francis French and Colin Burgess have to share the spot with you now!
Fresh Takes On Classic Stories.......2007-08-17
Writing this book, really, would not have been an enviable task. Yes, it would be a fun sandbox to play in, and, yes, it would be very cool to get to talk to the people you would have to interview to write the book.
But, it's been done, you know?
The Gemini period perhaps a bit less so, but how many books and movies and documentaries have covered the Mercury and Apollo programs? Were it me, I'd rather tread ground a little more fresh.
But the great thing about Silent Sea is that it is, in fact, fresh.
For the people who are relatively new to these stories, it's a wonderful introduction. To say that it's thorough is putting it lightly. Yes, the Mercury program is covered completely. The book includes everything you need to know. And it's told in a way that's interesting not only to a technical crowd but also to a lay audience, because, ultimately, Silent Sea is the story of the people who lived the history. These people who have become legends, after all, were people. Where did they come from? What were they like as children? How did they get to the point where they were making history? What was the experience like for them? What was it like living with having done something so exceptional? With the aforementioned thoroughness, Silent Sea paints portraits of the individuals behind the history.
Silent Sea is unusual, as well, in that it's not a history of the Mercury program. It's a history of human spaceflight from 1961 through 1965, regardless of where those humans were from. The U.S. and Soviet programs are covered in a combined chronological account, presenting the stories side-by-side as two components of one historical period. As a result, even for someone who is fairly well-versed in the history of NASA spaceflight, Silent Sea is an extremely informative volume, filling in the gaps from the far side of the Iron Curtain.
Even in telling the more familiar stories, however, Silent Sea keeps it fresh. No matter how many times a reader has heard these stories, they haven't been told in quite this way before. Yes, the major events are covered in detail, but they're shown as seen through different eyes, people like Dee O'Hara and Wally Funk. If you know who those people are, you know why you need to read the book. If you dont know who those people are, that is why you need to read the book.
Book Description
The tension-filled careers of the Mercury Seven, a handful of elite fighter pilots selected as America's first astronauts, is traced in this account of the dreams and nightmares of the early days of the U.S. manned space program. A behind-the-scenes look at the competitive and often arrogant atmosphere of the initiative—including details on the struggles of deciding whether to send chimpanzees or humans to space and the conflicts between NASA engineers and astronauts—is included along with an account of the program's moments of humor, from recurrent "gotcha" training session pranks to the round of drinks that a dubious answer to the question Are you a turtle? could entail. While most of these men eventually made it to space and even the moon, their lives as a part of NASA continued long after. The story of their work with motivational programs such as the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, U.S. Space Camp, and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center is also included.
Customer Reviews:
Warning on buying used - potential DVD problems.......2007-03-25
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I checked this book out from the local public library and decided it was good enough (3.5 stars) to want to own a copy for myself. The book is an interesting read if you are really big-time into the early U.S. space program. The videos on the DVD are very dated, but considering the topic is the early days of space flight, what would you expect? The "Gotcha!" videos were probably hilarious to NASA employees in the early 60s, but fall short now.
I saved by buying "used - like new" from an Amazon Marketplace seller. I trust Amazon (and the Amazon Marketplace) for nearly ALL my book and video purchases.
WARNING: The DVD that I received with the "used" book was a single-sided DVD-R (recordable) rather than a commercially-produced double-sided DVD-ROM (like the book from the library contained). The content was the same (with a slightly different menu, of course), but by fitting it on a single-sided disc it probably suffered a little file compression (reduction in quality). Considering the age of the videos, this is probably not really an issue.
A BIGGER concern, however, is that some DVD players, particularly older ones, have trouble with DVD-R discs, and DVD-R discs are more easily damaged and have a shorter life-expectancy than standard commercially-produced DVD-ROM discs.
I don't know if all the Amazon Marketplace sellers' copies of this book have DVD-R discs or just the one I chose, or if the publisher has switched to DVD-R in later printings of the book, or whatever, but keep this in mind if you have compatibility issues with DVD-R discs. It was not really an issue for me, but it might be for you...
The book is still an interesting read. The videos are really just a nice plus. Enjoy! Keep the dream alive!
The Real Space Cowboys.......2007-03-17
This book is a real tribute to the Mercury 7, as well as the millions of men and women who took the United States up into space. It traces the various steps of the astronauts from their fighter pilot days, until the days they flew the rocket ships into orbit and beyond. The book also contains numerous and interesting photos from that early era of manned space flight.
A must read for space buffs..........2006-07-05
I was lucky enough to hear Ed speak while I was attending Teacher Space Camp and was totally sucked in by his incredible backstories of the original astronauts and the "US Space Race". If you have any interest in the space program, this is a must read. Ed and Wally do a great job in letting you know the men behind the legends and just how much fun they really are (were).
Heavy on Huntsville.......2005-12-27
This book is a valuable and interesting contribution to the early history of the United States space program. Probably due to the close involvement of the primary author with Wernher von Braun, there is an unexpectedly high proportion of the book devoted to those aspects of the space program related to Huntsville and the von Braun team's efforts there. This is not at all apparent from publicity releases about the book, or even from the cover of the book itself. While there is significant information contained in the book about the Mercury astronauts, its greater contribution is in its Huntsville-related content, which has not received such a degree of attention in most similar publications. Those who were involved in the program at Huntsville in those early days will find the book especially appealing.
An interesting chronicle of the inside story of the space race........2005-10-08
Both Buckbee and Schirra do an equitable job of describing the details inside the race to the moon. The Apogee publication, however, suffers from poor editing and numerous errors. All in all, a creditable job by the authors, and an accurate insight into the American race for space, particularly the characterizations of von Braun and the M7.
Book Description
Irreverent, provocative, and filled with fascinating anecdotes, this autobiography by one of America's first astronauts offers a revealing inside look at the early days of space flight and the men who captured the heart of the nation. Wally Schirra was the only one of the original seven NASA astronauts to command a spacecraft in all three pioneering space program-Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Born to a World War I-ace father and a barnstorming, wing-walking mother, he inherited a love of flying and spirit of adventure that served him well. In this chronicle of an important era in aviation history, Schirra takes us into space on his 1962 Mercury flight that orbited Earth six times and aboard Gemini for the first rendezvous of two manned craft in space. Never reluctant to discuss the problems along with the stunning successes of those exciting, formative years, Schirra openly describes the pressures, tensions, and dangers associated with launch.
Schirra does not confine himself to his days as an astronaut but talks candidly about his entire career as a navy pilot, beginning in 1947 with bi-planes, transitioning to jets for combat missions over Korea, and ending with rockets into space. He also offers his views on the space program today and its options for the future. You don't have to be a space buff or a pilot to enjoy his remarkable story.
Customer Reviews:
The Quintessential Original Mercury Astronaut.......2007-02-16
Wally Schirra, perhaps more than all the other "Original Seven"
Mercury astronauts, embodies all the great strengths along
with the weaknesses of this group compared with the astronauts
who entered the space program after them.
It must be remembered that when the original astronauts were
chosen in 1959, manned spaceflight was a great unknown. In particular,
it was not known how the human body would responds to all the stresses
caused by the massive accelerations and decelerations of the spacecraft
in addition to the problems of prolonged "weightlessness". Thus,
those astronauts chosen were found to be able to withstand worst-case
scenarios for these things. Piloting skills were not as important
because the astronaut didn't really have much control of the Mercury
spacecraft.
By the time Schirra flew on his Sigma 7 flight (the fifth of the series), it had been found that the psychological and physiological stresses were not that great. In addition, the flight before his, Aurora 7, by Scott Carpenter was a near disaster because he did a poor job doing what little
piloting he could. Thus Schirra was called on to show that, indeed, with
good piloting skills, precise maneuvers could be carried out. Using what
Schirra called "the light stuff", Schirra proved that a skilled pilot can
do what has to be done while conserving precious fuel.
By the time the much more advanced two-man Gemini spacecraft came to fly, it was now necessary to carry out far more sophisticated missions, involving rendezvous, docking and EVA. Schirra in his Gemini 6 mission, along with Tom Stafford, spectacularly carried out the first rendezvous when his spacecraft met up with the already orbiting Gemini 7. Schirra was the perfect choice because he showed that the "light stuff" can
allow complicated space operations of the type needed to land on the Moon using the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous mode within the fuel constraints that were available. He also saved his Gemini mission when the Titan II booster rocket's engines cut off seconds after ignition and Schirra's
outstanding "feel" as a pilot told him NOT to carry out a very dangerous
ejection, so the mission was saved to fly another day.
Gemini training using simulations was far more complicated than those for Mercury and the veteran Mercury astronauts who flew Gemini like Schirra and Gordon Cooper found them more exhausting.
After the Apollo 1 fire, Schirra was once again called in to save the manned spaceprogram and was assigned the first Apollo flight. By this time, as he put it in his own words, he was being "devoured" by the space program. Fellow crewman Walt Cunningham felt that Schirra really didn't want to fly the mission but he pushed himself to do it out of a feeling of responsibility to his friend and fellow Mercury astronaut Gus Grisson who perished in the fire. This flight (called Apollo 7) not only would break in a new spacecraft that was far more sophisticated than the already complex Gemini spacecraft. Whenever flying a new spacecraft, there are always uncertainties as to whether all the bugs have shaken out, and in addition, the simulation training was even more time consuming and exhausting. All these things took their toll on Schirra, and the pressures came bursting out of him during the flight when he became ill with a head cold. Schirra began berating the flight controllers which enraged Chris Kraft, the head of flight operations.
Also, even though the mission was scheduled to last 11 days in order to
test the ability to last the duration of a lunar landing flight, Schirra
adamantly opposed carrying out more than a minimal number of scientific experiments. This was another legacy of the Mercury astronauts who loved flying but generally had little interest in the scientific aspects of space exploration. Thus, Walt Cunningham felt that the mission, although proving the spacecraft
was spaceworthy, wasted a lot of time that could have been used to
carry out more experiments and which would have alleviated their boredom
on the last days of the mission. Schirra even objected to carrying at TV camera on board, but NASA management insisted, saying the taxpayers had the right to see what their billions of dollars were going for. In this matter, Schirra relented.
Fortunately, as the moon landings approached, NASA began to choose astronauts who weren't as "tough" as the Original Seven, but they were better educated scientifically and technically, and they were better able to handle and understand the complex systems that made up the Apollo spacecraft, and they had more of a willingness to study geology and other scientific disciplines which Apollo's space exploration capabilites would enable space and planetary scientists to exploit.
Like all the other astronaut autobiographies, with the notable exception
of Mike Collins' "Carrying the Fire", this one does not really describe
what spaceflight is really like, nor will the reader will not really learn much more about America's space program by reading this book.
However, American owes Wally Schirra a lot. He stepped in twice when the
space program was in crisis and his exceptional piloting skills (maybe the best of the Original Seven) put America on its path to the Moon.
Two Times A Charm, Third Time A Thud.......2006-04-23
As much as I was a fan of Wally Schirra during his days in the space program, or perhaps because of that, I was mildly disappointed in his autobiography. This work strikes me as typical of a number of astronaut biographies and autobiographies rushed into print over the past generation or so, rather unremarkable in literary style and adding little to the historiography of this critical era of space travel.
Perhaps this should not be surprising. The author identifies himself as a technical man who throughout his military career kept his nose to the grind of precision flying and admits to little connectedness to the culture outside. No one should take up this work and expect to find Astronaut Schirra's opinion of "My Fair Lady." To the day of its publication the author through his book exudes continued pride in his association with other pilots of exceptional competence, and conversely, an avoidance of those who in his view are or were more form than substance. [Chuck Yeager, for example, will probably never grace the Schirra Thanksgiving table.] If Schirra is infected with hubris, it comes honorably.
Schirra is the antithesis of the joker and clown he was sometimes depicted as in, say, "The Right Stuff." It is within the world of test flying and space exploration that the reader will best connect with Schirra: learning, for example, that Schirra had little use for the extensive battery of medical tests to which all the early astronaut candidates were subjected. He was highly critical of the early conceptualization of Project Mercury. He was among those who considered early spaceflight "Spam in a Can" and lobbied extensively for pilot control in all of the various programs in which he served. His blunt talk, however, made sense as events would prove.
One can probably argue with credibility that Schirra was one of the half-dozen most competent pilots of the entire Mercury-Apollo era. His Sigma 7 flight in October, 1962, was a quantum leap for Mercury in terms of both distance and fuel economy. But his greatest contribution to the space program may have come in December, 1965, when in a four day period the author not only averted a major space catastrophe but achieved a technical breakthrough of major importance for reaching the moon.
Gemini 6 was a star-crossed flight from opening day. Scheduled for October, 1965, its mission objective was rendezvous with an unmanned Agena rocket launched hours earlier. The Agena inexplicably blew up before Schirra's and Tom Stafford's craft was launched, and the mission went into temporary limbo. However, after much discussion about feasibility, Gemini 6 was rescheduled for a December launch, with its new rendezvous target being nothing less than Gemini 7, the 14-day endurance epic of Frank Borman and Jim Lovell.
Gemini 7 was launched successfully early in December, and after a mere nine day turnaround of the Gemini launch pad--itself a record of sorts--the author and Stafford were ready to launch Gemini 6 in pursuit of Borman and Lovell. But in what has to be one of the more hair-raising moments of the space program, Gemini 6's launch rocket shut down a millisecond before lifting off the ground. The various disastrous scenarios were as numerous as the imagination permitted. In his own printed words Schirra is quite matter of fact about this dilemma and his now-famous choice against capsule ejection--which, incidentally, saved the rendezvous mission itself, as matters would transpire. For the historical record, Schirra sees his decision as the vindication of human pilots over computer guidance, and he seems proudest of this maneuver and the mission that followed.
He is right to be proud. If Schirra's instincts served him well atop Gemini 6 on the ground, his piloting skills three days later would set the space program ahead by leaps and bounds. Gemini 6 found its target in minimum time and milked the maximum possible navigational experience from the rendezvous. Gemini 6 established that with a skilled pilot a space vehicle could pretty much go wherever needed, an indispensable technical advance for moon landing technology.
Gemini 6 may have been Schirra's finest hour in the space program. It would be different after that. The fiery death of his old Mercury sidekick Gus Grissom in 1967 left Schirra as the only active member of the original seven astronauts and raised doubts in his mind about the Apollo Program in general. Apollo was exponentially more complicated than the Mercury Program for which he was chosen. Schirra has plenty to say about Apollo management, but there is a hint in his reflections that the Mercury crew [which included, at least hypothetically, Cooper, Slayton, Shepard and himself] might have been "over the hill" when Apollo took center stage. [182]
Schirra's comportment before and during Apollo 7, the first of the Apollo manned flights, has been the subject of considerable conjecture. This reader's impression is that Schirra had reservations about the vehicle, but more so with the management team behind it. The author complains that he was misled about guidelines for acceptable launch time wind velocities, and once in flight, pressured to perform tasks that interfered with basic shake-down procedures. The author's head cold while in space would later take on humorous proportions in his award winning Actifed TV commercials, but at the time his general health and its impact upon flight procedure became major ground to space confrontations. But in rare candor for an astronaut, Schirra admitted the unthinkable--Apollo 7 was boring him out of his mind by mid-flight. [203]
Schirra had announced his retirement before Apollo 7, and if Deke Slayton is to be believed, the author would never again have to worry about space boredom, as his crewmates Eisele and Cunningham ruefully discovered. The happy ending to this tale is Schirra's personal pride and contentment at his career's body of work and the ongoing respect he enjoyed from the top professionals in his field at the time of his book`s publication in 1988.
.
A very disappointing book.........................2004-12-28
Not even factually correct in some cases.. as when Wally implies that he got the LLTV training cancelled because it was dangerous. Wrong !!! It was used through Apollo 17. I own over a hundred aviation and space books, but this one I gave to Good Will after I read it.
A cocky, opinionated, American Hero.......2001-07-22
Wally Shirra doesn't lack for confidence. Then again how would a person, without the self confidence of a test pilot, strap himself to a rocket? A great insider's view of the program. However for all his confidence Shirra goes out of his way to not cast a single stone at the many people he crossed paths with through out his career. A class act. No new real information is uncovered through this book. Just a fun read.
Schirra's Space Revisited.......2000-10-11
I long have been a huge fan of Wally Schirra. I have always adored his keen sense of humor and wit. Furthermore, his impeccable aviator and astronaut careers always made me feel awe struck. Therefore, I greatly looked forward to reading Mr. Schirra's account of his career. My main interest was to get a real insiders look into the space program - which I believe the book did successfully on some major points. Mr. Schirra's wit pleasantly shined throughout the book - this made the reading more pallatable. Regretfully, the reason for my three star rating is the fact that the book would ramble. Without a moments notice, it would jump ahead in time and backward in time. I found this fact to be very irritating as I tried to stay focused and gain as much information as I could from my reading. I thought that maybe I was being too critical, but this sore spot was evident throughout the book. By the time that I had finished the book, I felt exaspirated from the time warps. Do not get me wrong, Mr. Wally Schirra is still a brilliant man in my eyes - I just found that the book was not a good representation of the the true great man that he is. All in all, for the average reader, I feel that this book has many good bits of information - as long as you are willing to sift through the minutia of time jumps.
Product Description
93 pages.
Book Description
In the Shadow of the Moon tells the story of the most exciting and challenging years in spaceflight, with two superpowers engaged in a titanic struggle to land one of their own people on the moon. While describing awe-inspiring technical achievements, the authors go beyond the missions and the competition of the space race to focus on the people who made it all possible. Their book explores the inspirations, ambitions, personalities, and experiences of the select few whose driving ambition was to fly to the moon.
Drawing on interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts, their families, technicians, and scientists, as well as rarely seen Soviet and American government documents, the authors craft a remarkable story of the golden age of spaceflight as both an intimate human experience and a rollicking global adventure. From the Gemini flights to the Soyuz space program to the earliest Apollo missions, including the legendary first moon landing, their book draws a richly detailed picture of the space race as an endeavor equally endowed with personal meaning and political significance.
Customer Reviews:
A window-seat on the way to the moon.......2007-10-19
It has been almost 50 years since mankind first
slipped the bonds of earth to explore the heavens.
Since then, space exploration has given us some of the
most spectacular and memorable moments in history from
the first moon-landing on Apollo 11 to the drama of Apollo 13 and the devastation of the Challenger and Columbia disasters. The material already written on these programmes would likely stretch from here to the
moon, and many would be forgiven for assuming that there's nothing new to write on the subject. However, authors Francis French and Colin Burgess have found a new angle and made a most worthy contribution to the
history of our greatest adventure.
What separates "In the Shadow of the Moon" from many other books on the space programme is that it focuses on the men and women who made it all possible. This is a people's history of space and examines that magnificent race from the perspective of those who lived it and did it: whether running the programmes or riding the rockets. Through their genuine interest in the subject matter, Burgess and French won the trust of the astronauts, cosmonauts and the lesser-known or forgotten space pioneers who toiled behind the scenes. The reward for their dedication and sincerity were stories that in many cases have never been told before and provide a fresh perspective on the early days of spaceflight. The end
result is a book that ranks amongst the very best written on the subject.
Not only does this book provide a most welcome perspective on a truly remarkable endeavour, but it is also extremely well written and thoroughly readable. This book transports you to a time when the two great superpowers were competing for control of the ultimate high ground while the rest of the world watched in awe and perhaps bewilderment. It proves that while the men and women who rode these rockets were indeed the best, bravest and brightest of that or any other time, they were also mere humans with their own foibles, insecurities, peculiarities and
curiosities.
If you want a truly human history of spaceflight, this book is amongst the very best available.
Another great space history.......2007-10-18
In a follow-on to their excellent Into That Silent Sea, French and Burgess have again come up with another gem. This book covers the 10 Gemini flights and the 5 Apollo missions up through the touchdown of Apollo 11, the first landing. Also included are details of some of the Soviet missions that occurred during the period. In addition, the book includes probably the best description of the Apollo I fire that I have read.
I went to work for McDonnell on the Gemini right out of college in 1965 and got to know the program rather well. I then went on to work on Apollo at Kennedy. So it is usually with some trepidation that I pick up a new space history book, as it seems many authors seem to think they can just go to the library, gather their facts and slap a book together, often without benefit of any proofreading or fact checking. Not so with French and Burgess. With the exception of a few almost insignificant items, this book is about as accurate as any I've read. The list of interviewees reads like a "Who's Who" of the space program. These interviews have allowed them to present a fresh perspective on the missions and it is written in a most enjoyable style. I was truly sorry when I came to the end.
My only complaint about the book is that I was hoping for the full story of the Apollo 11 mission, rather than ending with the landing. We can hope that their next effort in the series will continue the story of 11 and the remaining missions.
Another great book.......2007-10-16
Another great book on the Golden years of Spaceflight . Francis and Colin really have the "right stuff". Their insight and facts of the events are spot on and they have made the telling of each flight just as interesting and exciting as the previous one. Not an easy chore. I had forgotten how perilous the EVA's were and they brought back such vivid memories of them. Both "Into the Silent Sea" and "In The Shadow of the Moon" are terrific reads and a great way to "experience it all". I owe the authors a debt of gratitude for writing and accurately documenting these historical flights.
A Document to the Testament of Human Space Flight..........2007-10-07
This is the book you have been looking for.
This is a fantastic book, accounting the details and nuances of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts and their missions. Mr. Francis French and co-author Colin Burgess has taken just another telling of human space flight and created a new track - infused in it the personal thoughts, sentiments and reflections of ordinary men doing extra-ordinary feats. One does not quickly skim through this document, but instead slowly take in what the astronauts are telling us.
The authors gained the confidence and respect from the astronauts to share with them data, information and personal experiences not found anywhere else. I found myself lost in reading about the never before known aspects of the pioneers of the Mercury and Gemini programs - testing never before used technology and crews sharing their often near disastrous incidents. This is where man learned how to fly in space, with the Gemini capsule being the most maneuverable craft...even by todays standards. Questions we often asked ourselves about conditions in the crew cabin, conflicts with NASA administration or more private (and sometimes embarrassing), events/incidents are answered in this work.
I had the honor to interview Mr. French while he was Chicago, and he brought new insights and narration to the book and companion film. Sharing with me his own experiences in researching, interviewing and documenting forever the words of the astronauts, he demonstrated his love and passion for his work. The authors put on paper for us a priceless treasure of manned space flight, and creates for the reader, a great sense on what it is was like being there, the thoughts running through their heads - sitting on top of a controlled explosion, drifting away on a spacewalk or lost in thought studying the lunar surface. Next best thing to being there.
I do highly recommend this book for anyone who desires the human aspect - the personal insight of space flight without the dry over technical data of machinery specifications, although there is plenty of fulfilling information on that as well, presented as an adjunct to the story without overwhelming it.
Get it now and you'll be forever enriched.
Joe Guzmán
President
The Chicago Astronomer
www.chicagoastronomer.com
Another great book from the two co-authors.......2007-09-23
I must comment once again on the writings of Francis French and Colin Burgess with their second book, In The Shadow of the Moon [with an excellent forward by Apollo 7's Walt Cunningham].
Francis and Colin have this uncanny knack of telling these fantastic stories of 40+ years ago like the happened yesterday. They are written to keep you riveted to the book, and for that, I compliment them. As I mentioned in a review of their first collaboration, this book does NOT read as dry history, but tells the stories in the astronaut's own words.
I was particularly fascinated by the discussions with Apollo 8's Bill Anders. Anders has chosen to stay out of the public spotlight since his 1968 flight, so reading his words was something very new to me and also very interesting. With a son now serving in the Middle East, it drew an interesting similarity between his flight during the Viet Nam war. Anders story, alone, makes the book that much more interesting.
The final six pages of the book dealing with Charlie Duke as Capcom on Apollo 11 also hit a chord with me. We rarely think about what the astronauts who were serving as CapCom in Mission Control might have been thinking - and Duke's thoughts really summed up the entire feel-good feeling that this book presents. Great job!
I hope that part 3 will be coming up soon. I look forward to reading it.
[and I'm glad to see that the book is dedicated to another wonderful person and unsung hero, Dee O'Hara]
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Books Index
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A Man on the Moon
Failure is not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond
Full Moon
The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space
Apollo 13
