Happy 4oth Moon Landing Anniversary! July 20, 2009
In honor of that incredible achievement, we offer a few books about our journey to the moon and beyond, as well as links to some cool sites.
Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon by Craig Nelson
- Recreates the story of the Apollo 11 moon mission through interviews, NASA oral histories, and declassified CIA documents.
Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon by Buzz Aldrin
- Beginning with the 1969 launch of Apollo 11, Aldrin and co-author Abraham deliver a blow-by-blow account of the journey, landing and return.
Space Race: The Epic Battle Between America and the Soviet Union for Dominion of Space by Deborah Cadbury
- A fascinating account of the competition between the Americans and Soviets for control of outer space, focusing on two brilliant and ambitious scientists–Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev–who fueled it.
Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest by Gerard J. DeGroot
- Citing American competitiveness, Degroot argues that the moon landing was primarily a stunt of one-upmanship: the Russians getting into space first with Sputnik had a profound affect on Americans, as politicians and citizens alike became obsessed with beating them to the moon.
After Sputnik: 50 Years of the Space Age edited by Martin Collins
- A tour of the world’s premier collection of space artifacts, presented by curators from the National Air and Space Museum, chronicles the first fifty years of space achievement and exploration and shares profiles of 150 key objects.
Fly Me to the Moon: An Insider’s Guide to the New Science of Space Travel by Edward Belbruno
- Describing two spacecraft that have already used his techniques, Belbruno then lets our imaginations run to the future possible applications to missions to Mars, detection of Earth-threatening comets, or, more fantastically, a trip to the Alpha Centauri star system.
Watch the moon landing (again) on YouTube.
The Reference Desk at TFPL 