Good book on the Apollo program

[snowman99]

Can anyoen recommend a good book on the Apollo program?

I got "A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts" by Andrew Chaikin, but I've got 50 pages in and given up. It might be a good book (good reviews on Amazon) but it's all about the personalities involved. When they skipped straight to Apollo 8 by about page 40 I gave up.

I'm looking for something readable but a bit more technical? The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes was a good example - not a text book but enough detail to understand and appreciate the engineering/physics challenges they overcame.

Any suggestions?

[Eric Mc]

This one's excellent -



This one is also excellent. It was published way back in 1975 but has the bonus of being written by key people involved in the project - Werner Von Braun, George Low, Thomas Paine, James Webb etc



It was updated and republished in 2009. The pictures shows the 1975 edition - which I have. I still pull it down off the shelf to read it today.


If you are interested in the lunar science caried out by Apollo, this book is probably the best out there -



From a TV documentary point of view, I would highly recommend the Discovery Channel's "Moon Machines" which covers the development of key components of the technology, the Saturn booster, the Command/Service Module, the Lunar Module, the navigation system and the Lunar Rover.

Also highly recommended are these two gems from 1979. The were shown by the BBC on the night of the 10th Aniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. They are hosted by the former BBC Apollo anchor man - James Burke.

"The Men Who Walked on teh Moon".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ftL4X0Hxps&fea...

"The Other Side of the Moon".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6TCof6ASFg&NR=...

The second programme is probably the best exposé of the background politics and risks that lay behind Apollo.

[snowman99]

Thanks, I've ordered the first book.

I think I will order the 2nd too, but it sems to be online
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4214/contents.html

[Eric Mc]

snowman99 said:

Thanks, I've ordered the first book.

I think I will order the 2nd too, but it sems to be online
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4214/contents.html

It is. But having the "paper" book is nicer.

The sad thing is that quite a few of the contributers to the NASA publication have now passed away.

[Dave D]

Another vote for this one which is an excellent read...



Also try this one which is unbelievably good, massive amounts of info that is missed out of many books but quite possible to dip in and out when you choose...

[MartG]

Worth a look maybe http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/An-Ap...