 In the Shadow of the Moon
A Challenging Journey to Tranquility, 1965-1969
Francis French and Colin BurgessOutstanding Academic Title, CHOICE Narrated by Gary Willprecht
Available from Audible
Book published by University of Nebraska Press
In the Shadow of the Moon tells the story of the most exciting and challenging years in spaceflight, with two superpowers engaged in a titanic struggle to land one of their own people on the moon. While describing awe-inspiring technical achievements, the authors go beyond the missions and the competition of the space race to focus on the people who made it all possible. Their book explores the inspirations, ambitions, personalities, and experiences of the select few whose driving ambition was to fly to the moon.
Drawing on interviews with astronauts, cosmonauts, their families, technicians, and scientists, as well as rarely seen Soviet and American government documents, the authors craft a remarkable story of the golden age of spaceflight as both an intimate human experience and a rollicking global adventure. From the Gemini flights to the Soyuz space program to the earliest Apollo missions, including the legendary first moon landing, their book draws a richly detailed picture of the space race as an endeavor equally endowed with personal meaning and political significance.
Francis French
is the former director of events for Sally Ride Science, and the current director of education at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.
REVIEWS:
“A readable introduction to the first years of America’s leap into space.”
—Publishers Weekly “Authors Burgess and French are even-handed and equitable, and have done an excellent job in covering a vast expanse of material.... The opportunity to get the true stories from the astronauts themselves is a luxury that will sadly not be available forever, and In the Shadow of the Moon has done an excellent job in gathering and eliciting the stories of these men, not just the 'official reports,' but the personal touches that render them more human.... The authors have a touch for weaving revealing and captivating personal narratives amidst the nuts-and-bolts space history.”
—Michael Patrick Brady, PopMatters.com “French and Burgess have written yet another excellent book.... They bring the history of space flight to life. I eagerly await another exceptional book from these authors.”
—Kate Cooper, Apollo 1 Memorial Foundation “French and Burgess present a first-rate, detailed, and very personal account of the space race to the moon .... Strongly recommended both as a study of the social interactions among this unique group of people and as a gripping series of anecdotes that describe the exciting, dangerous steps behind the successful moon landing.”
—CHOICE “The writers have gone beyond old soviet propaganda to tell the untold stories of heroic cosmonauts through new and recent interviews. This volume captures the anxiety and haste shown by both nations at the height of the space race .... This series will be read by future generations when they want the complete perspectives of the original generation of space explorers.”
—Space Times “This book has everything you ever wanted to know about the astronauts that paved the way for the first Moon landing. Rarely does one get the entire information of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programmes, encased in one book, about the men who entered the dangerous and untried realm of flying off the Earth.”
—Jeff Green, Liftoff “President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon was achieved only because of 15 trailblazing Gemini and Apollo missions flown during four dynamic years of trial and discovery described in this meticulously researched book. In the Shadow of the Moon truly captures the spirit and culture of those who won the race to the Moon.”
—Dave Scott, commander of the Apollo 15 mission
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