First on the Moon

Apollo 11 was the fifth manned Apollo flight, third Apollo flight to the moon and the first mission to land two men, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, on the surface of the moon. This book, written for ten to twelve year olds, describes the adventure of Apollo 11 from the launch, through the docking, moon landing, and return to earth from the point of view of Buzz Aldrin's oldest child Jan Aldrin who along with NASA chief historian Roger Launius, helped write this book.Unlike a lot of books on the moon landings that cover in great detail the training, flight experience, marriages, etc of the astronauts, this book refreshingly opens with Buzz Aldrin and his daughter standing on top of the launch tower viewing the rocket (Saturn V) that will take him, Neil Armstrong and Mike Collins to the moon. The book then proceeds to the liftoff, docking with the Lunar Module, voyage to the Moon, lunar landing, the voyage home, and splashdown. Throughout the book, there are numerous sidebars, which describe in more detail, various aspects of the mission. For example, there are small sections, on "Becoming an Astronaut," "Space Food," "The Saturn V" and many others as well. In addition to the text, there are many high quality photographs that bring to life the first moon landing.While this book is geared to ten to twelve year olds, I feel that many adults will also find this book enjoyable as well, because of its well written text and great photographs.