Rocket Men:
the daring odyssey of Apollo 8 and the astronauts who made man’s first journey to the moon

£18.99 GBP

Rocket Men:
the daring odyssey of Apollo 8 and the astronauts who made man’s first journey to the moon

Overview

An Economist book of the year.

Fifty years ago, Christmas 1968, Man first orbited the Moon. This book tells the inside story of that epic journey.

In early 1968, the Apollo programme was on shaky footing. President Kennedy’s end-of-decade deadline to put a man on the Moon was in jeopardy, and the Soviets were threatening to pull ahead in the space race.

By August 1968, with its back against the wall, NASA decided to scrap its usual methodical approach and shoot for the heavens. With just four months to prepare, the agency would send the first men in history to the Moon.

Focusing on three heroic astronauts and their families, this vivid, gripping narrative shows anew the epic danger and singular bravery it took for Man to leave Earth for the first time — and to arrive at a new world.

Details

Format
Paperback
Size
234mm x 153mm
Extent
384 pages
ISBN
9781911617105
RRP
GBP£18.99
Pub date
10 May 2018
Other rights
NA — PRH

Praise

Rocket Men is a timely and thrilling reminder of a heroic American achievement — three dashing astronauts and the first rendezvous with the moon. It has it all — suspense, drama, risk and loving families. We could use those days again.’

Tom Brokaw

‘In 1968 we sent men to the Moon. They didn’t leave bootprints, but it was the first time humans ever left Earth for another destination. That mission was Apollo 8. And Rocket Men, under Robert Kurson's compelling narrative, is that under-told story.’

Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of Space Chronicles: facing the ultimate frontier
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About the Author

Robert Kurson earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin, then a law degree from Harvard Law School. His award-winning stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and Esquire, where he is a contributing editor. Crashing Through is based on Kurson’s 2006 National Magazine Award-winning profile in Esquire. He is also the author of Shadow Divers, and he lives in Chicago.
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