A Man on the Moon (The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts) - Andrew Chaikin > Reviews > An Excellent Read!

Author's product rating:   

Degree of Information	High
How interesting was the book?	Compelling
How useful was it?	Indispensable
Would you read it again?	Absolutely
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	Detailed information, engaging, balanced opinions
Disadvantages:	Not enough detail on some less "famous" missions

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I first read this book at the age of 12, shortly after seeing Apollo 13 for the first time, which whetted my appetite for more information on historical missions into Space.

The book opens with an exceedingly detailled account of the Apollo 8 mission, from the months leading up to this, the first manned flight around the Moon, to the splashdown, and after-effects of the mission.

Each subsequent mission is described in great detail, without repetition where the experiences were similar to those dealt with previously on earlier missions, and concentrating on capturing the experience of being part of the Space Programme, rather than the political background at the time, as so many other accounts do.

It is obvious that Andrew Chaikin conducted very extensive research in order to write such a detailed and engaging piece, and it is written in such an accessible way that it is just as readable for a 12 year-old girl yearning to know more about an exciting time before she was born, as it would be for someone looking back on what they remember seeing on the news as it happened.

This book is a concise, chronological account of the Apollo programme, and really gives the reader an insight as to what it must have been like to have been involved in such a magnificant feat. The only complaint I would have about it is that it contains little information on Apollo missions 2 - 6, or 9 and 10, however to include these might have become a little repetative, and they were obviously left out to an extent in order to concentrate on the more pioneering missions of the programme.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the Space Programme, as it is both an excellent introduction to the Apollo missions, and a resource for those already well-versed in Space History. If you buy this book you will find yourself unable to put it down, and referring back to it whenever you read or hear anything about the Apollo Programme.