Synopsis
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed their Lunar Module on the moon's Sea of Tranquility and became the first two humans to walk on the moon. This unprecedented heroic endeavor was witnessed by the largest worldwide television audience in history. Marking the 20th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, Buzz publishes Men From Earth, a detailed and astonishing account of America's race with the Soviets to the moon. The book ends with an epilogue venturing Outward, which looks toward future space travel through the year 2009.
Reviews
To coincide with the 20th anniversary this July of the first manned lunar landing, these books provide intimate accounts of how NASA accomplished the national goal of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade. In his book, Aldrin, the second man on the moon, interweaves the story of U.S. and Soviet efforts to reach the moon with his first-hand experience flying both the Gemini and Apollo missions during the height of the space race. His recounting of his two space flights is compelling, especially the account of the nearly aborted Apollo 11 lunar landing. In contrast to Aldrin's astronaut's point of view, Murray and Cox's book tells the Apollo story through the eyes of the NASA managers who guided the men and machines from the early days of the Space Task Group to the Apollo lunar missions. The result is the best account to date of how the enormous program was successfully accomplished. Full of insiders' anecdotes, this book truly humanizes the lunar landing story that too often has been told only in technological and bureaucratic terms. Relying heavily on interviews with the people behind the scenes, the authors vividly capture the spirit of Apollo, its triumphs and tragedies, and its ultimate success. When considering the likely demand for Apollo histories surrounding the anniversary, Aldrin's account may be considered complementary to his Apollo 11 crewmate Michael Collins's recent space history, Liftoff ( LJ 8/88). A review of Douglas MacKinnon and Joseph Baldanza's Footprints: The 12 Men Who Walked on the Moon Reflect on Their Flights, Their Lives and the Future , to be published by Acropolis in July, is scheduled to appear in our next issue.-- Ed. But for libraries considering only one title, Murray and Cox's book should be considered the essential purchase.
- Thomas J. Frieling, Bainbridge Coll., Cal.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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