Product Description

The epic of the Apollo missions told in the astronauts' own words and gorgeously illustrated with their photographs

Andrew Chaikin's A Man on the Moon is considered the definitive history of the Apollo moon missions-arguably the pinnacle of human experience. Now, using never-before-published quotes taken from his in-depth interviews with twenty-three of the twenty-four Apollo lunar astronauts, Chaikin and his collaborator, Victoria Kohl, have created an extraordinary account of the lunar missions. In Voices from the Moon the astronauts vividly recount their experiences in intimate detail; their distinct personalities and remarkably varied perspectives emerge from their candid and deeply personal reflections. Carefully assembled into a narrative that reflects the entire arc of the lunar journey, Voices from the Moon captures the magnificence of the Apollo program like no other book. Paired with their own words are 160 images taken from NASA's new high-resolution scans of the photos the astronauts took during the missions. Many of the photos, which are reproduced with stunning and unprecedented detail, have rarely-if ever-been seen by the general public. Voices from the Moon is an utterly unique chronicle of these defining moments in human history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105183 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780670020782
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Andrew Chaikin is the author of the acclaimed A Man on the Moon and several other books about space. He is a commentator for NPR's Morning Edition and has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, Fresh Air, and Talk of the Nation.

Victoria Kohl is an experienced writer and editor. She was the longtime editor of the New York City-based Promenade magazine.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful words and pictures, original quality contribution to history
Let's start with what this book is not. It is not the complete story of the Apollo moon missions; there are lots of history and technology books for that. It is not the best picture book of the Apollo moon missions; there are some stunning large format books for that. It is not the detailed personal story of what it was like to go to the moon; there are many individual autobiographies for that. So what is this book? It's the best, closest to first-hand, most beautiful summary of what it was like to experience going to moon in the 1960's and `70's.

The production quality is outstanding. The pictures are stunning, the layout inspired. And the extensive text is comprised entirely of extended quotations from the original moon voyagers taken from lots of long interviews with trusted moon mission expert Andrew Chaikin. This is not a quick cut and paste job. This is original quality, a true contribution to our fledging space history captured with care and understanding before it's too late. It's the reflections of the men that really walked and lived on the moon, the only men that can tell the story, organized and illustrated. The feeling I have is of sitting around a comfortable living room with all the legendary moon astronauts as they share memories and reflections, while they hand around the best pictures you've never seen. But the book is better than that! Chaikin draws out the best from the astronauts, and then distils his over 150 hours of conversation down to just the best parts.

So in summary, there are lots of good books about the Apollo moon missions, but this is one of the best you can have to get close to the real human experience of getting there, being there, and coming home. Hope this review helps you.

The true feeling of flying the Apollo missions
Of all the books written about the Apollo program, this book is the personal stories of what it was like to train and fly these missions. My colleague Andy Chaikin has extracted from his vast archive of interviews, conducted for his earlier Apollo book "A Man on the Moon" some of the most powerful and evocative quotations and observations from the lunar crews that flew to the moon from 1968 to 1972. If you buy and read this book, you will see a side to these iconic astronauts rarely shown to the public: sensitive, thoughtful, contemplative and focused. Above all, they show a sense of wonder at their experience and describe views of the universe that most of us will never see. I read the book once and re-read it to savor these reflections. I know personally some of these astronauts, but have never heard them speak this way before.
If you ever really wondered what it was like to ride the Saturn V, fly the Lunar Module, and walk the ancient lunar soil this book is for you.
When the story of our time is written, the missions of the Apollo program will be among our most significant legacies to the history and evolution of the human race. Read this important work-and buy a copy for any young student you know that is considering a career in science, math, engineering-or history.

Slick but Strangely Unsatisfying
I found "Voices From the Moon" to be well-produced, visually alluring, moderately interesting but, ultimately, strangely unsatisfying. In white text on its 200-plus glossy black pages, you'll find a meticulously chosen collection of sentence- or paragraph-size nibbles of the Apollo astronauts' descriptions of their lunar journeys. All of the Apollo missions except 7 and 9 are represented--these two are omitted presumably because they did not leave Earth orbit. Author Andrew Chaikin selected the quotes from over 100 hours of interviews that he conducted from 1985 through 1992 for his magnum opus "A Man on the Moon." Integrated with the text are more than 160 stunning black-and-white and color images, many not widely seen previously. Some of them are truly breathtaking, seemingly allowing the viewer to reach out and touch the lunar surface.

"Voices From the Moon" is organized by mission phase, such as Chapter 3, "Outward Bound," (the Earth-to-moon coast), Chapter 5, "Landing," Chapter 6, "On the Surface" and Chapter 7, "Solo" (the Command Module Pilot in lunar orbit). In each chapter, the photos and astronauts' quotes appear in random order, with little or no unifying structure. Some astronauts' personalities show through quite clearly, especially Alan Bean, Frank Borman and Dave Scott. Others are barely distinguishable from each other.

"Voices From the Moon" definitely supplements the body of literature about America's greatest adventure. But I'm not sure who the intended audience is. Those looking to learn the astronauts' deepest and most personal feelings about what they did are doomed to disappointment. The Apollo crews were highly focused, professional "right stuff" test-pilot types disinclined to put much stock in the touchy-feely aspects of their missions, or to reveal their emotions. These quotes don't really pierce their protective shells very much. Technophiles will find few new revelations about the hardware, the timeline of events or mission operations. For these reasons, I found "Voices From the Moon" to be somewhat shallow. To me, it failed to live up to the hype of Apollo astronauts describing "their otherworldly experiences in intimate detail for the first time." It's an okay book, and worth a quick read, but it's not that great. I recommend it with reservations.