Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon Paperback – Illustrated, 27 April 2010

A little disorganized and boring. The book on the same topic by the famous Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci is way better.

Le meilleur que j'ai eu la chance de lire sur le sujet de l'aventure spatiale. Absolument passionnant, de la fin de l'Allemagne nazie a la course américano-soviétique. Et l’après aussi... Chaudement recommandé.

"what is the purpose of going to the moon?""what is the purpose of a new baby?" says wernherd von braun, cited in this spectacular book. "We find out in time."craig nelson, from the vantage point of the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, answers that question most eloquently and, along the way, evokes the historical, cultural, and scientific forces that made it possible (and even necessary). I was a teenager in 1969, and i well remember that breakthrough moment (and just as vividly, john glenn in space, which we watched on a grainy black-and-white TV in my elementary school classroom). But beyond those memories i've known almost nothing about the space program and its important place in American (and my own) history. Until now.Coming in 1969, when our nation was painfully culturally divided, Apollo 11 was probably the one achievement that could unite Americans in pride. (Sure, there were objections: Remember the Gil Scott Heron song deploring the state of our inner cities, punctuated by the refrain, "And whitey's on the moon"?) But looking back at the past four decades, has America done anything else to warrant the same swell of love and gratification from all bands of the political spectrum? I don't think so!Beyond reminding us of this greatness, Nelson shows us just how heroic the pioneers of space had to be. Certainly, until i read this book, i had no grasp of the tremendous human dramas that underlay these epic achievements. ROCKET MEN tells the stories of both the scientists and the astronauts of Apollo 11 in realistic (yet romantic) detail that filled me with long overdue admiration and gratitude.this book so blew me away that i was surprised to see some negative reviews on here. weirdly they come from scientists, who i'd expect to be glad to hear their usually unsung achievements lionized. how sad that these readers missed not only the forest (the great cultural sweep of this book) and also the trees (the heroes that animate it) because of their microscopic focus on a few blotches on the leaves (details that no average reader cares about AT ALL--in fact, the eyes of most of us glaze over at the technical parts. Too bad for them--and too bad that they're upholding the the UNFAIR stereotype of scientists as data-crunching geeks, aloof from life).I gave this book five stars because it is history that can grab you like fiction.

Sorry to gush but this was a really great read. The way its told, with quotes from the people involved, really brings this to life. There is plenty of techncial detail as well but what comes across from this book was the people involved. Its made the whole wonder of the Apollo story personal and really seemed to give you the hopes and fears of the all the 400,000 involved. I really like the achknowlegment that the three astronauts of Apoolo 11 were the 'tip of the spear' and it took years of hard work to make the whole thing happen.I remember watching the pictures from the Apollo 11 moon landing and being fascinated. This book gives you how it happened, who made it happen and just how seat ofthe pants it really was. Boys Own stuff indeed - read this and see just what we can do if we try hard enough

good book