Tom Hanks Book:

		List Price: $18.00		Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Salesrank: 38743
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		Media: Paperback

Editorial Review:
This acclaimed portrait of heroism and ingenuity captures a watershed moment in human history. The astronauts themselves have called it the definitive account of their missions. On the night of July 20, 1969, our world changed forever when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Based on in-depth interviews with twenty-three of the twenty-four moon voyagers, as well as those who struggled to get the program moving, A Man on the Moon conveys every aspect of the Apollo missions with breathtaking immediacy and stunning detail.

Description of A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts:
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.

A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts Reviews:
Exhaustive and Entertaining Summary of the Apollo Missions
2009-10-19 - As a seventeen-year-old, I wasn't alive when the Apollo program changed the world forever. But through Chaikin's book, I was taken back to the time when dreams were realized. This vivid account taken from interviews with most of the astronauts gave great insight to what these missions were really like. I was pretty familiar with the Apollo 11 mission, mostly from Michael Collins' book, Carrying the Fire. But it was great to learn about the other missions of Apollo. There were some great scientific discoveries made during these later missions, and Chaikin wrote them down in a way that was not too difficult to understand. Five stars for A Man on the Moon!

Nearly flawless
2009-07-24 - When reviewing on Amazon, I routinely notice that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Translated, I mean if a book has been reviewed 100 times there is usually a nice spread of 5 star to 1 star reviews with the spread usually leaning toward the 4 and 5 star reviews because readers are, by nature, apt to give a good review to something they've invested a month or two of their life in.

With that in mind, the sheer onslaught of 5 star reviews associated with this book should convince any and all to read it.

IT WAS TRULY A WONDERFUL BOOK.

I read the final 400 pages in 3 days. Couldn't put it down. I loved the way that Chaikin blended personal stories of family and real life in with the missions. I also loved the fact that he spent a considerable amount of time explaining the nuts and bolts of space travel on Apollos 8-13 and from there he decided to leave out certain aspects of the Apollo missions. I don't need to know about perfect ascents in the lunar module or what become standard takeoffs, dockings, burns, etc. He did cover the lightning strike of Apollo 14 and the issues that Ken Mattingly had on the CM on Apollo 16 and he should've. But why describe each perfect - or near perfect - aspect of each Apollo mission. He didn't waste time on the ordinary and instead focused on the extraordinary.

I would reommend this book to virtually anyone that is even mindly interested in knowing more about the Apollo missions and the space program. This book sells itself and will literally accelerate the reader through it. You want to know what happens next and each mission pulls you forward much like the moon's gravity pulled Apollo away form the Earth. you will literally be pulled through this book.

My only complaint would be that I would've like more illustrations. I would've like pictures mixed in with the writing. When they talk about a famous picture or a significant find, it would've been nice to have a map of the moon showing where they drove with the rover or where a certain crater actually lies. At times, where each mission landed in comparison to another mission became confusing and if the photos and finds were so significant then it would've been nice to have them right next to the actual reference in the book. This is being extremely nitpicky though so I will not hold back on giving this 5 stars for that reason. In my mind though, it would've engaged the reader even more.

BOTTOM LINE. IF YOU ARE AT ALL INTERESTED IN THIS SUBJECT MATTER READ THIS BOOK BEFORE ANY OTHERS. IT IS DETAILED ENOUGH TO TELL THE STORY BUT NOT TOO DETAILED AND WILL ENGAGE YOU THROUGHOUT.


The definitive version.
2009-07-21 - I actually own this 3 volume set, I've had it from new. I had the paperback, unillustrated version for many years and greatly appreciated it so I couldn't resist this despite the high price even when newly published. The text remains the same but the large number of illustrations and images on the pages and the high quality binding and case make for a great experience. My only worry is that the wretched thing is getting so valuable that I'm scared to open it in case I bend a page!

Man conquers the Moon.
2009-05-27 - I was 18 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. I watched the almost unbelievable event on black and white TV outside a shop window, as most people were doing. It was an outstanding achievement,especially for young people like myself doing physics hoping to go for an engineering career. Today I can only smile when I recall my grandmother's reaction as soon as I told her what had occured. This 70 year old lady was extremely religious and would have nothing of it. The more I tried to convince her the more she became adamant that I was being blasphemous !!!!. She did'nt speak to me for a week !! God bless her. Andrew Chaikin has written an excellent book.Anyone wanting to know what realy happened would miss out if he does'nt read this extraordinary account.It is really captivating to learn how difficult it really was and the courage it took from everyone involved. I could'nt let the book out of my hands. A true masterpiece .Now I am 57 and I recently had the great honour and privilege to meet Jack Schmitt of Apollo 17 fame while he was at the Malta University delivering a speech for the Physics Dep. Later he visited our still budding Aviation Museum.It was truely a great honour.

Inspiring and Depressing Book
2009-03-26 - Although I was only six years old when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon, I remember my father calling me into the living room to make me sit down and watch the first moon walk. I do not remember much other then being mad that I had to sit down and watch and him telling me one day I would be glad I saw this. Well, I am glad he made me watch and I am glad that I read this book almost 40 years later.

The book one of the best I've ever read. It gives the necessary (not comprehensive) details of every Apollo flight from 8 ( first manned flight around the moon) to 17 (the sixth and final lunar landing). Its well written and Mr. Chaikin keeps the readers' interest by intertwining the technical details with the biographical information of all the major players in the Apollo mission. It is a book that you will not be able to put down.

This book effected me in two contrary ways. First, it was inspiring to read of the persistence, courage, wisdom and diligence that went into the Apollo mission and its predecessors (Gemini and Mercury). Not just the astronauts but leaders like Kennedy, managers like Deke Slayton, engineers, mission controllers like Gene Kranz, scientists and a host of other unnamed men and women. It is amazing to think of what they accomplished in less than 10 years.

The book also sadden me because planetary exploration ended with Apollo. Weak politicians like Walter Mondale thought feeding the poor was more important then man's continued discoveries - as if we could not do both. Had he been around in the14th century Europe our ships would still be hugging the coast of Europe and Africa in fear of falling off the edge of the world. We should be on the moon, we should at least be going to Mars. It is a reflection of our lack of moral character that we are not. Chaikin closes with these words which every American should ponder: "Project Apollo remains the last great act this country has undertaken out of a sense of optimism, of looking forward to the future...It is the sense of purpose we felt then that seems as distant now as the moon itself. If NASA has lost direction, it is only because we have not chosen to give it one. Instead of letting the moon be the gateway to our future, we have let it become a brief chapter in our history. The irony is that in turning from space exploration - whose progress is intimately linked to the future of mankind - we rob ourselves of the long-term vision we desperately need. Any society, if it is to flourish instead of merely survive, ust strive to transcend its own limits. It still as Kennedy said: Exploration, by virtue of difficulty, causes us to focus on our abilities and make them better."

After reading these words I felt a smidgen of the loss that Schmitt felt when he heard the words of Nixon while on the Challenger returning from the last trip to the moon, "This may be the last time in this century that men will walk on the moon..." It give a great personal and national sense of loss that we have not gone back.

Again, a great inspiring book.