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Rocket Men

The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The riveting inside story of three heroic astronauts who took on the challenge of mankind’s historic first mission to the Moon, from the bestselling author of Shadow Divers.

“Robert Kurson tells the tale of Apollo 8 with novelistic detail and immediacy.”—Andy Weir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Artemis


By August 1968, the American space program was in danger of failing in its two most important objectives: to land a man on the Moon by President Kennedy’s end-of-decade deadline, and to triumph over the Soviets in space. With its back against the wall, NASA made an almost unimaginable leap: It would scrap its usual methodical approach and risk everything on a sudden launch, sending the first men in history to the Moon—in just four months. And it would all happen at Christmas.

In a year of historic violence and discord—the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago—the Apollo 8 mission would be the boldest, riskiest test of America’s greatness under pressure. In this gripping insider account, Robert Kurson puts the focus on the three astronauts and their families: the commander, Frank Borman, a conflicted man on his final mission; idealistic Jim Lovell, who’d dreamed since boyhood of riding a rocket to the Moon; and Bill Anders, a young nuclear engineer and hotshot fighter pilot making his first space flight.

Drawn from hundreds of hours of one-on-one interviews with the astronauts, their loved ones, NASA personnel, and myriad experts, and filled with vivid and unforgettable detail, Rocket Men is the definitive account of one of America’s finest hours. In this real-life thriller, Kurson reveals the epic dangers involved, and the singular bravery it took, for mankind to leave Earth for the first time—and arrive at a new world.

Rocket Men is a riveting introduction to the [Apollo 8] flight. . . . Kurson details the mission in crisp, suspenseful scenes. . . . [A] gripping book.”—The New York Times Book Review
Aeronautics & Astronautics Americas Astronomy & Space Science Expeditions & Discoveries Science United States World Air Force US Air Force Inspiring Thought-Provoking Aviation Imperial Japan Interstellar Space Exploration History
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For anyone who is interested in the race to the moon. Didn’t know anything about Apollo 8 - then couldn’t stop listening. Great narrator and the story blew my mind more than one time. Totally recommend!

A story only life can write

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Loved it. For any Apollo fan or any space fan. It's a must! I couldn't get enough.

A must for any space fan.

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Thoroughly researched book written recently combining contemporary sources and recent interviews with the astronauts and some of the NASA personel involved in the mission.
This was by far the most talented crew who pulled off a uniquely ambitious and dangerous journey in an untested spacecraft.
All three men had outstanding careers post NASA.
The book to read about Apollo

Fantastic

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A fantastic must read/listen book for anyone interested in the Apollo mission. Absolutely fascinating and contains some real inside insight to the Apollo 8 mission which I’d not read elsewhere.

Only slight disappointment was the authors references to Bormans wife which I found odd, irrelevant and unnecessarily intrusive - but it doesn’t spoil the book at all.

Buy it! You won’t be disappointed!

A fantastic and enthralling book

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I loved it from start to finish. An often over looked event and story of it. Found myself going for more walks so I could keep listening.

excellent

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