Download Shoot for the Moon The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11 James Donovan 9780316341783 Books
Download As PDF : Shoot for the Moon The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11 James Donovan 9780316341783 Books
"This is the best book on Apollo that I have read. Extensively researched and meticulously accurate, it successfully traces not only the technical highlights of the program but also the contributions of the extraordinary people who made it possible." -Mike Collins, command module pilot, Apollo 11
Download Shoot for the Moon The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11 James Donovan 9780316341783 Books
"If you know little or a lot about the U.S. space program, you will learn so much great history from reading this fine work. Wernher von Braun's escape from Hitler's SS troops and his work in America that advanced our rocket science twenty years. LBJ's outstanding leadership in forming our early space program. JFK's support and challenge that got us to the moon. How the original astronauts were selected., and the dangers and challenges they faced. Details of all the Mercury flights and the Apollo flights. How NASA headquarters was eventually located in Houston. Understandable dialogue of our advancing rocket science. How one man championed the Lunar Module idea and eventually won out on how our astronauts got safely to the moon and back to their space ship. All the details of how the U.S. trailed the Soviet space program, finally caught up, and surpassed it. What caused the downfall of Scott Carpenter's asteonaut career. So much drauma, adventure, dangers, and personalities, all based on incredible research. A must-read called the best book on Apollo by Mike Collins who was one of the Apollo Eleven astronauts."
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Shoot for the Moon The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11 James Donovan 9780316341783 Books Reviews :
Shoot for the Moon The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11 James Donovan 9780316341783 Books Reviews
- I'm more into history than science, and with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing coming up, this feat definitely qualifies as history, even though I remember watching it as an 11yr. old kid on the B&W TV in the corner of our living room. The scientific details described here are understandable to--and appreciated by--this non-scientist. And I love the narrative style that reads like a good fiction novel. The hold-on-to-your-seats description of the actual moon landing had me doubting they'd make it even while knowing that they did. If you have any interest at all in the space race and Apollo 11, get this book. Command module pilot Michael Collins says it's "extensively researched and meticulously accurate" and he would be the person to know if any detail is missing or inaccurate.
- If you think you know this story or if you are new to it, you will be captivated by this gracefully written book. The research is impeccable, and the complicated scientific material rendered comprehensible to all by the author's straightforward and clear prose. This is a book worthy of the heroes who reached for the stars and left to their nation and the world a record of extraordinary achievement.
- Growing up in Houston during the Space Race, I was familiar with most of the story. That does not mean that a good story should not be retold. Most readers will recognize about 70% of the book. The author has done an excellent job of adding new information from Russia’s archives, and fleshing out the individual personalities of the astronauts. He has also placed certain Missions in the proper context. Americans had grow bored with flights that did not orbit the moon; yet Apollo 9 and 10 were very important to a successful lunar landing. The author explained that very well.
The sad part is that a magnificent story, well researched, gets muddled by the author and editor. Donovan has an interesting and sometimes odd way of describing things. It sometimes lacks polish. The more difficult problem is his constant use of run-on sentences. Sentences that run on for 5-7 lines of text are common. I do not think he is familiar with the use of a semicolon. One sentence covered ten lines of text. It had multiple parenthetical phrases separated, at times, by commas and at other times by dashes. You have to reread them and, even then, I was not sure the author intended the comment to be positive or negative. It creates a lot of ambiguity that a good editing could have corrected. There is a caption under a photo that reads “Aldrin takes the first step onto the moon’s surface.†Now unless you think the event occurred on a Disney sound stage, you know that Armstrong was the photographer. It should have said “Aldrin takes his first step onto the moon’s surface.†Donavan had gone into some detail about Armstrong got to be first. Why would you create an ambiguity now?
There is a good bit of discussion about NASA being a civilian and not a military program. Of course, we all know that NASA has had its share of military programs. Throughout the book army, navy and air force are not capitalized. In fact, they do not even merit a slot in the index. Given the patriotic nature of the event, I would have capitalized Army, Navy and Air Force and not treat them as common nouns.
It is a shame that a lack of editing got in the way of a good story. Maybe the publisher will see the wisdom of hiring a good proofreader and editor. Then, they would have a four or five star book. - The Apollo program was vast and complicated, yet this absorbing narrative gets to the heart of the story and makes it human. James Donovan’s focus is on the men and women who gave their all to the mission, whether it be the countless technicians or the famous astronauts themselves. His writing is infused with energy and purpose—he has a great eye for detail and atmosphere, and the narrative never gets bogged down by the enormity of the mission. Every reader knows how this ends, but it takes a special author to make it suspenseful and interesting nonetheless. A spectacular read.
- If you know little or a lot about the U.S. space program, you will learn so much great history from reading this fine work. Wernher von Braun's escape from Hitler's SS troops and his work in America that advanced our rocket science twenty years. LBJ's outstanding leadership in forming our early space program. JFK's support and challenge that got us to the moon. How the original astronauts were selected., and the dangers and challenges they faced. Details of all the Mercury flights and the Apollo flights. How NASA headquarters was eventually located in Houston. Understandable dialogue of our advancing rocket science. How one man championed the Lunar Module idea and eventually won out on how our astronauts got safely to the moon and back to their space ship. All the details of how the U.S. trailed the Soviet space program, finally caught up, and surpassed it. What caused the downfall of Scott Carpenter's asteonaut career. So much drauma, adventure, dangers, and personalities, all based on incredible research. A must-read called the best book on Apollo by Mike Collins who was one of the Apollo Eleven astronauts.
