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The Moon

A History for the Future

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The Moon

By: Oliver Morton
Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
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About this listen

Every generation has looked up from the Earth and wondered at the beauty of the moon. Fifty years ago, a few Americans became the first to do the reverse - with the whole world watching through their eyes.

In this short but wide-ranging book, Oliver Morton explores the history and future of humankind's relationship with the moon. A counterpoint in the sky, it has shaped our understanding of the Earth from Galileo to Apollo. Its gentle light has spoken of love and loneliness; its battered surface of death and the cosmic. For some, it is a future on which humankind has turned its back. For others, an adventure yet to begin.

Advanced technologies, new ambitions and old dreams mean that men, women and robots now seem certain to return to the moon. What will they learn there about the universe, the Earth - and themselves? And, this time, will they stay?

©2019 Oliver Morton (P)2019 Audible, Ltd Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Economic History Economics History History & Philosophy Science Technology Robotics

Critic reviews

"An out-of-this-world read...brilliant and compelling. Morton is a high-octane British science journalist, and every chapter is littered with material that strikes, amazes or haunts...this is a book filled not just with a lifetime's knowledge of its subject but with a lifetime's suppressed excitement." (James McConnachie, Sunday Times)
All stars
Most relevant
a wide and thoughtful sweep through moon facts and history, rendered in fine prose for the non-techy reader. i'm writing a novel that has the moon race as a backdrop, in 1967, and Morton's book has been very helpful for my understanding of the 'human nature' of the moon.

the best book i've read about the moon

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An in-depth analysis of the science, fiction and future of the moon. Also very mindful and eloquent narration.

Changed my understanding of the moon forever.

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Very disappointed. It started off well enough and then veered off into ill thought through stuff about Earth not the moon. I gave up on it.

The Moon is not about the moon

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