First on the Moon

This book was originally published in 1970 and, for 20 years hence, was the gold standard of books on manned spaceflight. It was written by Gene Farmer and Dora Jane Hamblin who were given unprecedented access to the Apollo program through the famous Life Magazine contract. The 400 page epic is a stylish, and highly detailed, account of the Apollo 11 experience which dwells not just around interviews with the Apollo 11 crew but includes an in depth narrative of, seemingly, every aspect of the Apollo era from an explanation of the guidance systems aboard the space craft to the ingredients of the Moonlander Cocktail being served in the bars along the Cocoa Beach strip. It brilliantly captures the headyness of the times using 1970 speak, such as "Cape Kennedy", and "Manned Spacecraft Center" to rekindle the feeling of elation that was in the air at the time of the first moon landing. You will not find this aspect in any of the 25-years-after-the-fact histories that have been written on the Apollo program since. The book has style, with chapter titles such as "Into the Vasty Deep", "The Ecliptic", and "I vunder vere Guenter Vendt?". You can open this book to almost any page and start reading; it will suck you into the incredible human interest story of what it meant to fly to the moon in 1969. The Apollo 11 mission is followed chronologically with many side bar off-shoots that explore the lives of the NASA engineers and technicians, and the neighbours and friends of the astronauts. This all works together to backfill the story of how Apollo 11 came into being, through the pioneering days of Mercury and Gemini, and through the blood, sweat, and tears of many individuals. I love this book because it captures the essence of an era when the sky was the limit. This is not just a book, it's a piece of history and I'm glad Barnes and Noble had the good sense to recognize that and re-publish the volume for a new generation to enjoy.

While this is not the be all end all of astronaut books..it was written mostly by Life magazine, but with a great deal of attributed comments by the famous three. It is however one of the most all encompassing books about what goes into a spaceflight..I have read all the books, and this one is a happy blend of good background and enjoyable reading material about the lives and the stresses of the astronauts and their families and friends, and also delves pretty well into the technical aspects, but you do not need a degree in astrophyscis to understand..it's not rocket science, but it is about rocket science, so it's a fun and enjoyable read. Give it a shot, worth the price if you are a NASA and moonwalker fan. Fly NAVY!