A decade in the making, this book is based on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with each of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who contributed their brain power, training and teamwork on Earth. In his preface Chaikin writes, "We touched the face of another world and became a people without limits." What follows are thrilling accounts of such remarkable experiences as the rush of a liftoff, the heart-stopping touchdown on the moon, the final hurdle of re-entry, competition for a seat on a moon flight, the tragic spacecraft fire, and the search for clues to the origin of the solar system on the slopes of lunar mountains. "I've been there. Chaikin took me back."--Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 astronaut


From Publishers Weekly
Chaikin chronicles the historic voyages of the Apollo astronauts, from the program's inception in 1961 to the final mission in December 1972. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Science writer Chaikin spent eight years interviewing dozens of NASA flight controllers, engineers, technicians, and especially all 23 surviving astronauts who flew missions to the moon during the Apollo program. Fleshed out with never-before-published conversations taken from declassified on-board voice recorders, his book provides a vivid account of the first era of manned lunar exploration. Published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first landing, Chaikin's insightful telling refreshes the oft-repeated stories of these pioneering flights with new details, anecdotes, and reflections that convey what the experience was like for the astronauts. He also shows that, paradoxically for one of the most intensively reported stories of its time, how little we really understood what happened on that July night in 1969. Reminiscent of Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox's superb Apollo: The Race to the Moon (LJ 6/15/89), this is a highly recommended purchase for both public and academic libraries.--Thomas J. Frieling, Bainbridge Coll., Ga.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Chaikin believes we have never truly come to terms with the fact that 24 men have left their footprints on the moon. In an effort to document and understand the shift in consciousness that transformed the moon--a celestial body long associated with goddesses, love, madness, and mystery--into a moving target and goal of the world's most sophisticated technology and determined egos, Chaikin conducted numerous interviews with the moon voyagers and their earthbound colleagues who guided and prayed for them. The result is a can't-put-it-down volume that picks up where Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff left off. These portraits of the men who were willing to be more alone than any human had ever been before are vibrant and compelling. And Chaikin meticulously chronicles each Apollo mission in dramatic detail, describing the dynamics within each trio, the emotions of the astronaut who had to orbit the moon alone while his more glorified comrades romped across powdery moonscapes, and the unprecedented, almost unimaginable experiences of the men who gathered moon rocks and watched the earth rise. This account helps us reclaim the awe these adventures originally inspired, the wonder at such audacity, and the now-ingrained image of the beautiful blue-green Earth spinning hopefully in the austerity of space. Donna Seaman


From Kirkus Reviews
For the 25th anniversary of the first moon landing, a winning and detailed account of the Apollo astronauts, a dozen of whom were the first human beings to walk on the face of the moon. The strength of the book lies in Chaikin's exhaustive research, including interviews with all 24 Apollo astronauts. Chaikin, an editor of Sky and Telescope, draws on the wealth of material from NASA's files--including recently declassified transcripts from the on-board voice recorders, which give candid glimpses of the astronauts' thoughts not intended for outside ears (not even Mission Control's). As a result, the reader gets an in-depth portrait of the program, which the book sets clearly in its time, with glimpses at the Vietnam War and social unrest at home that were eventually to overshadow its brilliant accomplishments. Even readers who followed the moon program at the time will find surprises (Buzz Aldrin's celebrating communion after the first lunar lander touched down) as well as nostalgic reminders of how much fun it was (Alan Shepard's smuggling along golf balls and a club head to try a few swings in lunar gravity). Chaikin effectively recaptures much of the emotion of Apollo: not only the macho fighter-jock exhilaration of flying higher and farther than anyone in history, but the worldwide tension when an explosion forced Apollo 13 to return prematurely to Earth; the frustration of astronauts bumped from the moon crews by illness or other twists of fate; the almost metaphysical calm of looking back at Earth from a quarter million miles away. And while the author's main focus is rightly on the astronauts themselves, the supporting cast, from politicians to engineers--and especially wives and families--gets its fair share of the spotlight. Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of space flight: well written, full of fascinating characters and facts, and above all worthy of its subject. (First printing of 40,000; author tour) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
On the night of July 20, 1969, our world changed forever when two Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked on the moon. Now the greatest event of the twentieth century is magnificently retold through the eyes and ears of the people who were there. Based on the interviews with twentythree moon voyagers, as well as those who struggled to get the program moving, journalist Andrew Chaikin conveys every aspect of the missions with breathtaking immediacy: from the rush of liftoff, to the heartstopping lunar touchdown, to the final hurdle of reentry.


From the Publisher
9 1.5-hour cassettes

FROM THE PUBLISHER

On the night of July 20, 1969, our world changed forever: two Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked on the moon. After the horror of the Kennedy and King assassinations, amid the deepening quagmire of Vietnam, the moon landing brought the sixties to a triumphant end. But the upheavals of that decade have somehow eclipsed this "one giant leap" and the even bolder explorations that followed. Now Andrew Chaikin tells the story of the Apollo missions as never before: through the eyes of the astronauts who made those heroic voyages. A decade in the making, A Man on the Moon is based on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with each of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who contributed unprecendented brain power, training, and teamwork on earth. With breathtaking immediacy, Chaikin conveys every aspect of the Apollo missions, from the rush of liftoff atop a Saturn V rocket to the heart-stopping touchdown on the moon, to the final hurdle of reentry. He tells of the intense competition for a seat on a moon flight, and of the resurrection of Alan Shepard, at age forty-seven, from grounded pilot to moon voyager. We see the Apollo missions unfold from their tragic beginning - the spacecraft fire that killed three astronauts - to their spectacular conclusion high on the slopes of lunar mountains, where the astronauts searched for clues to the origin of the solar system. Here are the stories of a unique handful of men who have been to the farthest edge of human experience. For the first time, we learn what the men inside the space suits truly felt. Through them we can look back and understand the achievement that began on that almost mythic July night when, as Chaikin writes in his preface, "we touched the face of another world and became a people without limits."

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969, this chronicle offers a comprehensive, often penetrating look at NASA's Apollo program. Originating in 1961, when President John Kennedy told Congress that the U.S. should attempt to land a man on the moon ``before this decade is out,'' the program's last mission ended in December, 1972, with the splashdown of Apollo 17. Diary-like reports mix with first- and third-person accounts as Chaikin, an editor at Sky And Telescope magazine, delivers a chronological view of the missions and those who planned and flew them. Focusing closely on the Apollo astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, Pete Conrad and Neil Armstrong, Chaikin gives his topic a sense of immediacy. But his treatment, lengthy as it is, reads more like an extended magazine article. Missing is a view of Apollo in a wider context, one that captures the mythos of our efforts to land on the moon. (June)

Library Journal

Science writer Chaikin spent eight years interviewing dozens of NASA flight controllers, engineers, technicians, and especially all 23 surviving astronauts who flew missions to the moon during the Apollo program. Fleshed out with never-before-published conversations taken from declassified on-board voice recorders, his book provides a vivid account of the first era of manned lunar exploration. Published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first landing, Chaikin's insightful telling refreshes the oft-repeated stories of these pioneering flights with new details, anecdotes, and reflections that convey what the experience was like for the astronauts. He also shows that, paradoxically for one of the most intensively reported stories of its time, how little we really understood what happened on that July night in 1969. Reminiscent of Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox's superb Apollo: The Race to the Moon (LJ 6/15/89), this is a highly recommended purchase for both public and academic libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/94; see also Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton's Moon Shot, LJ 4/15/94.-Ed.]-Thomas J. Frieling, Bainbridge Coll., Ga.

BookList - Donna Seaman

Chaikin believes we have never truly come to terms with the fact that twelve men have left their 24 boots on the moon. In an effort to document and understand the shift in consciousness that transformed the moon--a celestial body long associated with goddesses, love, madness, and mystery--into a moving target and goal of the world's most sophisticated technology and determined egos, Chaikin conducted numerous interviews with the moon voyagers and their earthbound colleagues who guided and prayed for them. The result is a can't-put-it-down volume that picks up where Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" left off. These portraits of the men who were willing to be more alone than any human had ever been before are vibrant and compelling. And Chaikin meticulously chronicles each Apollo mission in dramatic detail, describing the dynamics within each trio, the emotions of the astronaut who had to orbit the moon alone while his more glorified comrades romped across powdery moonscapes, and the unprecedented, almost unimaginable experiences of the men who gathered moon rocks and watched the earth rise. This account helps us reclaim the awe these adventures originally inspired, the wonder at such audacity, and the now-ingrained image of the beautiful blue-green Earth spinning hopefully in the austerity of space.

New York Times Book Review