Publisher's Weekly Review
Donovan (A Terrible Glory) impressively chronicles the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, culminating in Americans' successful landing on the moon in July 1969. He succinctly relates the major milestones of the space race: the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik in 1957, the selection and celebrity of NASA's Mercury Seven astronauts, John F. Kennedy's vow to put a man on the moon by decade's end, John Glenn's orbit of the earth, the increasingly advanced missions of Project Gemini, America's mid-'60s push past the Soviets after years of technological inferiority, the fatal fire on Apollo 1 in 1967 that almost derailed the whole program, and NASA's recovery (especially Apollo 8's lunar orbit in December 1968). The final quarter of the book focuses on Apollo 11, from the rocky process of forming its team through its years of training, its lunar landing, Neil Armstrong's first steps, and its return to Earth. Exceptionally researched, this exciting, sometimes harrowing book highlights the work not only of the pioneering astronauts but also of thousands of technicians and engineers. This is a perfect volume to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing and all that led up to it. Photos. Agent: B.J. Robbins, B.J. Robbins Literary Agency. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* With NASA's recent announcement about a planned return to the moon coupled to fiftieth anniversaries of Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 and recent release of the movie First Man, profiling the late astronaut Neil Armstrong, interest in the long-retired Apollo space program has been undergoing an overdue revival. The best-selling author of works on the Alamo and the battle of Little Bighorn, Donovan combines his masterful research skills and narrative gifts in recounting the full story of the most famous Apollo trip, the one that delivered Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon's surface. Donovan begins with the 1957 launch of Sputnik, the tiny Soviet satellite that ignited the space race between the U.S. and Russia, and takes readers through the early days of failed rocket launches and orbiting monkeys before NASA began its Herculean efforts to realize President Kennedy's 1961 dream of landing men on the moon by the decade's end. In the often gripping chapters on Apollo 11, Donovan reveals many colorful details about behind-the-scenes pressures, such as an early argument between Aldrin and Armstrong about who goes first. Drawing on dozens of interviews with the era's engineers and scientists, Donovan's history is a powerfully written and irresistible celebration of the Apollo missions.--Carl Hays Copyright 2018 Booklist
