Chariots for Apollo:: The Untold Story Behind the Race to the Moon

by Charles Pellegrino

It began in the depths of the Cold War, with two nations hurtling steel chariots into the atmosphere, each vowing to be the first to the moon. Then, in 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged America—and from Long Island to Cape Canaveral, Houston to Huntsville, an army of engineers, scientists, bureaucrats and astronauts were swept up into the effort. Somehow, America would put a man on the moon's surface and bring him back safely before the decade was over. But how?

For eight frantic years the engineers would design and redesign, the scientists would argue, and brave men would trust their lives to virtually untested machinery. This dramatic chronicle of the race to the moon takes us behind the scenes of this awesome quest, into the minds of the people whose lives were devoted to it and changed by it, and through the missions themselves—including the tragedy of Apollo 13. A riveting portrait of ingenuity, determination, and raw human courage, Chariots for ApolloO is the powerful story of how one society came together to reach its goal—a quarter of a million miles away.

It began in the depths of the Cold War, with two nations hurtling steel chariots into the atmosphere, each vowing to be the first to the moon. Then, in 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged America—and from Long Island to Cape Canaveral, Houston to Huntsville, an army of engineers, scientists, bureaucrats and astronauts were swept up into the effort. Somehow, America would put a man on the moon's surface and bring him back safely before the decade was over. But how?

For eight frantic years the engineers would design and redesign, the scientists would argue, and brave men would trusttheir lives to virtually untested machinery. This dramatic chronicle of the race to the moon takes us behind the scenes of this awesome quest, into the minds of the people whose lives were devoted to it and changed by it, and through the missions themselves—including the tragedy of Apollo 13. A riveting portrait of ingenuity, determination, and raw human courage, Chariots for ApolloO is the powerful story of how one society came together to reach its goal—a quarter of a million miles away.

Genres: Space, History, Nonfiction, American History, Science, Aviation

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Charles Pellegrino is a scientist working in paleobiology, astronomy, and various other areas; a designer for projects including rockets and nuclear devices (non-military propulsion systems), composite construction materials, and magnetically levitated transportation systems; and a writer. He has been affiliated with Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand National Observatory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long Island, NY; taught at institutions including Hofstra University and Adelphi University Center for Creative Arts; a member of Princeton Space Studies Institute. Cradle of Aviation Museum, space flight consultant; Challenger Center, founding member. After sailing with Robert Ballard to the Galapagos Rift in the immediate aftermath of the discovery of the Titanic (in 1985), Pellegrino expanded from the field of paleontology “into the shallows of archaeological time.”

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be advised that this book--inexplicably--is one of two books about the Apollo program titled Chariots for Apollo. The other is a NASA History Office document which precedes this. One of these books is generally considered a classic overview of the Apollo program, and I don't think it's this one.

This particular Chariots for Apollo--written by Charles Pellegrino and Joshua Stoff--is an oral history of the making of the lunar module by the Grumman corporation. It covers many of the key participants from both Grumman and NASA.

The fact that it's an oral history, where extended quotes from these men and women drive the book, makes the book very readable and easy to follow. But that approach also has drawbacks:

One drawback is that it comes at the expense of broader coverage. I was looking for more of an academic approach, where we can see the whole playing field and not just the views from some of the key players. So I think we get somewhat of a narrow view here.

Another drawback is that it takes on a quality of a bunch of guys sitting in bars grousing together over beers about the good old days. It feels casual. You're never sure how tall the tales are. There are many recollected conversations, and I'm unsure of their veracity. The authors extract some of these recollections and present them as de facto.

Case in point: there's a recollected conversation between Tommy Attridge--one of Grumman's project supervisors--and Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, after Apollo 11's return. Attridge gave Armstrong a silver plaque with his first words spoken on the moon, 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.' As the recollected story goes, Armstrong leveled his finger at the plaque and told Attridge he had said 'That's one small step for a man.'

I'm not doubting that happened--we know Armstrong had tried to change the history of his first words in the last thirty years--but here's where I got skeptical: later on in the same story, Armstrong is flummoxed by the fact that there was no 'a' in his words in the recording, and is quoted in the book as saying, 'Damn, I really did it. I blew the first words on the moon, didn't I?'

And I don't claim to be the greatest scholar on Neil Armstrong, but I know plenty about his character, and I doubt he ever would have said such a thing. He never would have led off a sentence with, 'Damn,' and he wasn't likely to admit any weaknesses. He just wasn't that way. He always played his cards very close to the vest, and he wasn't a man given to exclamations of any sort.

There are some factual errors, too. One such error came from Wernher von Braun's protege, who says Richard Nixon began cutting Apollo missions in 1967. I don't know whose error this is, but as we all know, Richard Nixon wasn't cutting anything in 1967, except maybe his lawn.

The writing also matches the spirit of the oral history, so there are some stretches that seem too off-the-cuff and irreverent for my liking. I wish the book was more polished and rigorous.

Many of the stories were very good, though. The story of the contraband good-luck greeting to the Apollo 11 moonwalkers--rarely acknowledged in Apollo histories--is one of the book's strong points, and it's probably the best account we're likely to find, since Grumman was responsible for it. Also, the coverage of the Apollo 13 accident and recovery is probably the highlight of the book. I had read two Apollo 13 histories prior to reading this book, and surprisingly, this had stuff I had not previously read. Additionally, we get a strong picture of how soul-destroying the work was for the Grumman employees, many of whom were working nights and weekends without pay (at least one man collapsed and died on the shop floor!) so they could meet a demanding deadline.

As a space history, it's not perfect, but it is a valuable book for the anecdotes of the men and women behind the scenes who made some of the key hardware for the Apollo program. I wish there were more Apollo books telling those stories.

As a side note, I was a bit irritated by the many spelling errors, which are probably attributable to Avon Books. I'm becoming convinced Avon has the worst typesetters in the industry.

[George Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history of the making of the Apollo Lunar Module. A wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the trials and triumphs in the design and assembly of the LM. This book, along with Tom Kelly's "Moon Lander", gives the reader a full comprehension of the daily struggles of developing a life support system on another world after Von Braun was convinced that lunar-orbit-rendezvous was the only true way to land on the moon by John Houbolt, "A voice in the Wilderness".

[Warren Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

very technical, but GOOD. Should be read along with its partner on building the Saturn V boosters. Don't bother with the book on the new management system that NASA also developed...

[Arthuro Molenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable work. Read it.

It's technical and human, easy to read.
Awesome.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't remember much about it.

This note was added years after reading the book.

Newmarket library.

[Marco Bitetto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book builds upon the presentation of
the book entitled "Apollo: The Race to the
Moon".

[Gert-Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read.

[Larry Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. One of the two or three best books about the Apollo program.