Apollo: An Eyewitness Account

First, let me say Alan Bean is one of the most articulate of the Apollo Astronauts who walked on the Moon. In addition to the painter himself captioning his collective series of truly unique "Paintings from the Moon", you owe it to yourself to purchase the DVD, "For All Mankind". This DVD is reviewed elsewhere on this site, but it and this particular book of Mr. Bean's paintings will likely become most treasured additions to your collection of manned spaceflight memorabilia. I also found the dramatic characterization of Alan Bean, and exploits of his Apollo 12 crewmates, depicted in Tom Hank's 1998 HBO miniseries, "From the Earth To The Moon", to be very entertaining. That espisode of that facinating and truly outstanding TV production was first telecast in 1998. This book was published in the same year and the two works complement each other very well, upstaging most of the other spaceflight documentaries somewhat lacking in humanistic content. We are very fortunate to have had at least one Astronaut with additional interests other than pure science and aerospace engineering, to share his extraordinary experiences while a key member of the Apollo program. The one and only thing missing from my copy of this book is Alan Bean's personal autograph!

If you have a strong interest in Space travel, and always wanted to talk to the Astronauts that went to the moon to ask them how it felt or what they were thinking as they walked on a planet other then earth, this is the book that will bring you to a time that has never been repeated. A time when man walked on the moon. Mr. Bean's use of his fantastic artwork to describe a part of his life when he was a member of the elite few, chosen by NASA, to become the first to walk on the moon, is the closest you will get to actually being there. It is a book of Mr. Beans paintings but also a trip thru the minds of some of our first Astronauts. If how space travel began interests you at all, I strongly recommend obtaining this book. It's a must have to any collector of Space Memorabilia.

This book captures the feeling of what it's like to actually BE THERE. Alan Bean's artwork is breathtaking and offers new perspectives on the wonder of space exploration. His use of color is eyepopping and grabs your attention and holds it. You are literally drawn into every painting and I found myself mesmerized by thousands of details. The picture of a "birds-eye view" of a golfball taking flight over the moon is one I will never forget! This is a must have book if you are yearning for an idea of what it's like to take a magical look through the visor of a space suit.

We have seen many of the photos, but now, we have a different perspective of the greatest journey of exploration in the history of man. Al Bean seems to be just as good an artist as he was an astronaut. Bean displays some of his great work depicting important moments from the 6 missions to land on the moon. For every painting there is an explanation so the reader knows what they are looking at. From Dave Scott and his Galileo demonstration to the first moonwalk of Neil Armstrong, Al Bean has done some paintings that make this book a gem. I highly encourage any person who is interested in space exploration, art or American History to buy this book. Al Bean has done a fantastic job!

Alan Bean's unique artistic vision is beautifully presented in this book. Bean's art thoroughly supplements the pounds of moonrocks and racks of datatapes as payback for the Apollo program, and the book is the first comprehensive collection of his work. Bean's first hand stories of Apollo 12, and Chaikin's text provide an adequate refrence for the pictures... but the pictures are the story. The Apollo program may well be the defining event for all the 20th century, and Alan Bean's artwork captures the humanity of the moon landings in a way that is instantly comprehendable on a very human level. I won't be shocked if, 100 years from now, Alan Bean's paintings of the early days of theexploration of space is treasured along side Thomas Moran's paintings of the American West.